When Our Lights Flicker
by X. A. S. Dealphene
Summary: There are times when hope seems lost, when the abyss is in sight. There are times when our lights flicker. This is one of those times. This is the story of a boy who's light flickered...and died. Rated T for violence, depression, and other things. This is a prequel to GAS ARF. Also, I don't own RWBY, just my characters. My poor, poor characters.
1. Introductions

_**So, you didn't necessarily ask for it, but I'm giving it to you anyway. So, I present to you When Our Lights Flicker, the backstory between the original Brafez Rasputin and his adoptive sister Welsha Pierre. I shall be following these two from ages 8 and 12, to 11 and 15, and from there I shall go into the creation of Welsha's hatred against the cloned BR. Do note that the original dies in the end, so, not really spoiler alert. You would have to have read Gods Among Us, A Rwby Fanfiction beforehand. So, be warned. Also, shameless Rooster Teeth casting inbound. These chapters won't be as long as the main story, mostly because I'm at a lack for details. So maybe I shouldn't be publishing these, but, fuck it. All right, now with that out of the way, let us start the story.**_

 _ **But first, something in Latin.**_

 _ **"Os iusti meditabitur sapientium. Et lingua eius loquetur indieium. Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem. Quoniqmcum probates fuerit accipient coronam vitae. Kyrie, ignis, divine, eleison."**_

 _ **"The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom. And his language shall be clear. Blessed is he who suffers temptation, since he, with striving, shall receive the crown of life. Lord, fire divine, have mercy."**_

 _ **START OF PROLOGUE**_

* * *

 _ **Somewhere...**_

He was still. Everything was still. The only thing that moved were the snowflakes. He was on a cliff, overlooking a castle. He looked behind himself at the woman in white. She was calling his name. He shook his head and looked forward, seeing a black mist. Inside was a cloaked figure, black fire leaping from its shoulders.

The figure was beckoning him, calling to him.

Its pull was irresistible and persistent.

It wouldn't be long until he could let go...

* * *

 **The Dragon Continent, four miles out from the nearest village...**

An eight year old Brafez Rasputin pulled his axe head from a Major Beowulf's neck, his right sleeve reduced to shreds. The dead Grimm had not been an easy fight. Considering the Wulf was over a century old, that had been expected. The injuries he received were as well. A long gash ran down his bicep, and there was blood in his hair: whether it belonged to himself or the pack leader, he knew not. And yet, considering the wound, he felt merely a slight tingle.

It did not matter. He turned to the rest of the pack, numbering in the hundreds.

Resting Fenrir's handle on his shoulder, Brafez stood, silent. Then he spoke. "Leave while you can. If you do not, I will murder your pups and females. Then I will come after you. I address you now as equals, because I believe that perhaps one of you shall understand. I did not wish to harm you, no, far from it. Yet, I had to set an example. So, these are your choices: stay and be slaughtered, or run and live to torment my kind later on."

After a few tense minutes the pack's second in command uttered a harsh bark, with the teeming crowd retreating into the woods. Brafez sighed, kneeling and resting his forehead against the smooth birch handle of Fenrir. He trudged over to the corpse of the Major Beowulf, leaning down to look it in its dim eyes. It was still alive, yet barely.

"Cogito ergo sum." The Grimm croaked, with Brafez nodding his head. A few seconds later the Grimm died, blowing away with the wind.

"I think, therefore I am. Goodbye." He took a knee, holding Fenrir before him.

"Forgive me, Atlas, for I have sinned. Taken a life from another, I do pray they shall be welcomed by the goddess of the hunt. May they stalk the fields of Forevermore, the eternal hunting grounds, in peace ever-lasting. Amen." Brafez stood, returning Fenrir to the spot on his back and walking into the forest, his rust-colored eyes shimmering with tears.

* * *

It was the same every time.

Brafez sighed as the villagers clapped their hands in appreciation for the young exterminator. They didn't- couldn't understand his pain. Not many did. Even his sister Welsha barely understood him. How could they? He was a monster fighting monsters. No pain, except for in his head and his heart. It wasn't always like this. In the beginning, he had been very gung ho about killing Grimm, almost to the point of insanity.

He walked, resting Fenrir on his shoulder, up the beaten path to where the bullhead waited for him. He clambered aboard, resting his head against the back of his seat. They were still clapping. Although he abhorred the sound, Brafez grit his teeth in concealed frustration, muting the noise. It was all he could do to bear it.

Once the bullhead took off, he listened to the wind for comfort. Brafez would not find any. When he opened his eyes he saw a small figure in the distance, wreathed in black mist. The sight sent shivers down his spine. The being felt ancient and powerful, and it called to him with a dead song. A dark orb hung behind the figure, and whenever Brafez looked at it, he felt his eyelids grow heavy.

He was grateful once the figure was out of sight.

* * *

Welsha eased the door open, peering inside the Seventh Column's office. They were a subsection of the Sect, tasked with taking out big-risk targets, Grimm, or if need be, otherwise. The Seventh Column was lead by two individuals, Leonard Church, and Allison Texas. They were children of Great War veterans, and childhood friends.

Teenagers dressed in various different colored clothing made their way through a busy hallway, none of them noticing the opened door. The purple-haired girl smiled and gestured with her fingers at a wall out of sight, a small portal opening up. She put one against the floor and fell through it, rolling as she hit the floor.

She was in a room connected to the hallway, books stacked high, almost as tall as herself. A boy in grey clothing was reading one, the title long and fancy-looking. That wasn't what she was here for though. Welsha quickly scanned the titles in front of her, before finding one that caught her interest. She inched her fingers into the cracks and pulled back, forgetting about gravity for a second as the books on top of the one she had grabbed came tumbling down. She teleported away before she could be injured, ending up in the hallway outside.

Freedom was just a few feet away. All she had to do was make a portal outside and jump through-

"Well, what have we got here?" Welsha winced and turned around to find a woman looking over her. She wore all black and had blonde hair cut short. She gave off an aura of strength, and that she was one not to be fucked with. "Hey Church! Looks like we got ourselves a thief!"

Out of a doorway stepped a man in blue clothes, a small beard growing on his face, outlining his green eyes. A pair of glasses clung to the bridge of his nose, dark brown hair almost hampering his vision. He looked at the woman in black and sighed, walking over to them. "Tex, what have I told- Oh. Hello there." He said when he finally noticed the girl on the ground.

"H-Hi." Welsha responded hesitantly, trying to hide the stolen book with her body.

"What book were you trying to steal?"

" _Axe._ I was going to give it back."

"Right. Give it here." Tex held out her hand, with Welsha sighing and giving her the book. "What's your name kid?"

"Welsha Pierre." She said, standing up and brushing the dirt off her pants. The two nodded and walked away, leaving Welsha alone for a minute.

"That's Rasputin's sister, right?" Tex muttered to Church, once they were out of earshot.

"Yeah. You think we should let her in?" Tex shrugged in response, throwing the book to Washington as he exited the library. " _Tex_."

"Why are you looking at me? It's her decision, not mine." The blonde retorted, gesturing to the now-absent Welsha. "Wait...where'd she go?"

"Shit."

* * *

As the bullhead descended, Brafez watched the snow fall. It snowed regularly at Inverness, which was a given since they were so high up in the mountains. Being in Atlas certainly didn't help. He looked down at the landing pad and saw a familiar bundle of purple hair, running towards him. A small smile met his face before he saw the Sect's leader awaiting him, after which the smile was replaced with a scowl. Brafez hated him, and everything about him. The way he dismissed civilian casualties, the way he was so nonchalant about death of any kind infuriated Brafez to no end.

However, he was still his boss, and while Brafez didn't like it, he had to live with it. He forced a fake smile as the bullhead bumped against the ground, Brafez departing. The Sect's leader walked up to him, holding out his hand. Without a second thought Brafez put his hand against the leader's with practiced ease. It was second-nature by this point.

As the leader left, Welsha rushed over to him and hugged him tightly. It was what he needed after missions. Not everyone enjoyed killing Grimm, and he had it the worst. This time his face bore a genuine smile as he hugged her back.

"Hey brother, how you doing?" Welsha asked, pulling back slightly to let him breathe.

"Same shit different day. There were a few pups with them, so I managed to get them to leave." Brafez replied, shrugging slightly. He looked past her, seeing two individuals running towards them. "Who're they?"

"Oh, them? Just a few-" He shook his head as they got closer, giving him a clearer view.

"I know who they are now. Why are they after you?"

"I...might have tried to steal a book." His sister sheepishly admitted.

"Oh yeah? Which one?"

" _Axe._ My bad."

"Really Welsh? I would have just given you my copy."

"But...it's more fun stealing!" Welsha declared, making Brafez sigh and smile at her. Some things never changed. The two approaching people stopped just in front of them, Brafez eyeing them with disdain. It wasn't that he didn't like Tex and Church, it was just that they shared different views on the hunting of Grimm. Brafez hated it, and the Seventh Column was too gung-ho about it for his liking, which was why he refused to join when they offered him a spot.

"Hello Brafez. Another successful mission?" Tex inquired.

"Yeah. You could say that. Welsh, Tex, Church, I'll be seeing you later." Brafez said coldly, walking away and into Inverness. The three watched him go before Tex turned to Welsha.

"Say, how would you feel about joining the Seventh Column?"

"I'm not sure how Brafez would-"

"I'm fine with it." Brafez said through the walkie-talkie on her hip. She looked down at the device in surprise, but quickly regained her composure and nodded her head.

"So, you'll join?"

"Yes. I like the color purple."

"Oh boy, South is going to have a hissy-fit over that." Tex muttered under her breath, walking with Church and Welsha in tow. They did not feel an eye on them, but it was there nonetheless. Brafez felt his hair stand up, but he dismissed it.

Nothing got inside the Sect's shielding. Right?

* * *

The white figure watched the boy go, and saw the eye on him. She sighed and vanished, merely a breeze on the wind.

* * *

 _ **END OF PROLOGUE**_

 _ **A.N. As you can see, these chapters are much shorter than my main story. Whether this is a product of not being able to think up the gaps to fill, or if I'm just not giving my all, this is for you to decide. I'll post these two a week, on Tuesday and Thursday.**_


	2. Freelancing

_**START OF CHAPTER ONE**_

* * *

 _ **Inverness, Seventh Column study...**_

Welsha shifted in her seat, waiting for the two to come back. They'd dropped her off here and then left. While she liked silence, this was starting to get a bit ridiculous. After what seemed like forever, Church walked in, alone.

"My apologies, Tex usually does this, but she's busy. So, I'm taking her place. I'm just going to ask some rudimentary questions and then you can begin. Just a reminder, this is a volunteer service, you don't have to join if you don't want to." Church stated, sitting down across from her.

"I understand." Welsha responded.

"Good. Now, on to the questions. One, do you have any family, and if not, what happened to them?"

"I have an adoptive brother. We live alone. I don't have any other family, as my mother, father, and baby brother were killed during a Grimm attack when I was four. I was trapped inside the ruins of my room for four days, and that's when the Sect showed up and took me in." Welsha said with a tired voice, like she had sung the same tune thousands of times before.

"My condolences." Church muttered, writing notes down on his notepad.

"It's fine. I got over it long ago."

"Well, next question. What is your blood type?"

"O."

"Great. Next question. How do you feel about killing Grimm?" She mused the question over, even though it was a strange one.

"I think...It's a necessary evil. Grimm want to kill us and we have to kill them in order to survive."

"Okay. Say you didn't have to kill them. Would you still feel that way?"

"Would you kill a harmless beast? Would you feed a full man?"

"Point taken. Next question. Ugh. How do you feel about the new leader?" Welsha smiled at the groan and giggled.

"Oh boy. Can I skip this one?" No one appreciated the new leader, and everyone knew it. In fact, if the new leader died the next day, no one would care. They'd probably be happy, because then they could elect a proper leader.

"Sure. Next question. How do you feel about Fauna?"

"I don't have anything against 'em. They're just people like you and I. You've got one in your group, right?"

"Yes. Her name is Terracotta. Terracotta Jones. Sweet girl, real good at killing Grimm. She'd make a good apprentice to your brother."

"I'm not so sure about that. He's never seen a Faunus in his life."

* * *

Brafez walked down the cobblestone hall, passing a truck filled with crates of all sizes. He saw the man on the side and waved, Brazeazel waving back. He was an escort for the truck, and helped unload the crates into the Farm.

The Farm was an experimental facility, where all sorts of inhumane and unethical experiments went down. It was a recent addition, and had been constructed by the new leader in order to "learn more about our enemies". They captured Grimm out in the wild and brought them back to experiment on them. The stench of burning Grimm was strong in the air around the Farm, but Brafez had grown used to it during the past few months. How they kept the Grimm alive in captivity was unknown, but it was astounding. That was the only reason why the Atlas Council had allowed the Farm to exist.

Brafez kept walking alongside a wrought iron fence, separating him from the Farm by a few inches. The fence was imbued with burn dust, and while Brafez could control it, he'd rather not go inside there. The place gave him the creeps, and he often questioned what the hell he was doing just being in the vicinity of the Farm. He kept walking for a few minutes, leading away from the Farm.

When he reached a tall heavy door, he pulled it open and walked inside, entering the civilian quarters. A girl waved at him, and he waved back. The girl's name was Katie, and she was kind enough. Katie was very polite, a well-mannered girl in every sense of the word. She wouldn't turn down the opportunity to help anyone.

Brafez considered her naive, that she thought she could help everyone. He never voiced his opinion, though. He didn't want to have to explain that the world didn't work that way, that it was a very cruel world they lived in. That was not a lesson taught, it was one learned. He had learned it well. Katie threw him a cookie from a half-eaten bag, flashing him a smile. Brafez smiled back and took a bite, silently slipping back into his brooding thoughts.

He walked on autopilot until he reached the door of his and Welsha's apartment, opening it and walking inside. The comforting sounds of Classical music reached his ears and brought a true smile to his lips. He was very fond of classical music. His scroll buzzed against his hip, so he picked it up. It was a message from Rogii, the bounty master. He gave out jobs from all over Remnant to Sect members, be it clearing out a local Grimm infestation or helping to enforce the law in the settlements beyond the pale of the Kingdoms.

Brafez opened his scroll, reading his next assignment. "Thanks Rogii." Brafez muttered, smiling and plopping down into an armchair. His next assignment would be to escort a trading caravan through the desert out in Vacuo, and help keep bandits away. That side of the sand was void of Grimm life, and his name was enough to keep any miscreants out of their hair. This would be easy enough. He'd have to thank Rogii later.

Another message appeared on his scroll, this time from Welsha.

 _'I got in.'_

 _'Good.'_ He replied _. 'I'm happy for you. Next assignment came in.'_

 _'What is it?'_

 _'Escort assignment. Vacuo. No Grimm in sight. I need to thank Rogii.'_

 _'Nice! Stay safe! I'll be home later tonight.'_

 _'Oh.'_ Brafez smirked, typing back. _'You're meeting with Samantha again, aren't you?'_

 _'N-No. Shut up.'_

 _'Never. Enjoy your date, nerd.'_

 _'It's not a date! We're just friends.'_

 _'Right. And I can feel pain.'_

 _'Ha ha. Very funny. Eat something, will you? I don't want anything to happen like last time.'_

 _'Not hungry.'_

 _'Brafez.'_

 _'What? ;)'_

 _'(;_;)'_

 _'(:-:)'_

 _'What are we doing?'_

 _'I don't know. Later Sis.'_

 _'Later. Eat something!'_

 _'Bye!'_ Brafez smiled as he turned his scroll off, just to mess with her. He knew how much it bothered her. He groaned and stood up, looking at the fridge. He should eat...

The doorbell rang, and Brafez started walking towards the door. A few feet away he was slammed into the wall, claws wrapping around his throat. He barely felt it, mostly because of congenital analgesia, but also because he was too busy wondering if his coagulants still worked. When he looked at his attacker, he saw a black mist, behind it a giant twisting orb of black fluid. It was the figure from before, black fire leaping off its shoulders. It was getting harder to breathe every second, and Brafez saw only one end in sight.

Then he blinked and he was standing in the hall, still a few feet from the door. He checked his neck, and felt no claw marks on the skin. The doorbell was still ringing. He filed the incident away and opened the door, revealing Katie dressed in a white nightgown and holding a pillow.

"Hi Katie. Sleepover?" Brafez asked, looking at her hazelnut eyes. She had very luminous eyes.

"Yep!" Katie responded with a smile. He opened the door further and let her in, the girl rushing past him and into the living room. Brafez shut the door behind him and checked his scroll, a countdown on the screen. It was for when he needed to take more coagulants, when the first two lost effectiveness. When he looked up, he was socked square in the face with a pillow, complementary of Katie. "Got you!"

One pillow fight, six hours, four movies, and several bags of popcorn later, Katie was fast asleep, resting her head on Brafez's shoulder. He liked her, but she'd eat him out of house and home. He looked down at her sleeping face and smiled, a tinge of comfort warming his heart. It was a shame that most Exterminators rarely died in bed, because in several years he was sure Katie would be a fine, tried and true friend. Perhaps even more. But with recent events, he doubted that he would live to see it.

He picked her up like a sleeping princess and carried her out into the hallway, walking to her apartment door and knocking. Katie's brother, Marcus, opened the door, taking Katie in his arms and thanking Brafez before shutting the door. A hushed breath sounded to Brafez's right, and he took out Fenrir with haste.

"Please, Exterminator, let us talk." The white cloaked woman said, holding out her hands to show that she was unarmed. Brafez did not lower Fenrir. She had an unearthly feel about her.

"Then talk. I have had a good night, but my caution is not lowered." Brafez responded, yanking out Fenrir's grip and transforming it into a long-axe.

"Very well, Rasputin. I am here to protect you. The figure that which you have seen before is trying to kill you. You know what I am talking about."

"The Grimm?" Brafez inquired, lowering his axe lightly.

"Yes. It is an ancient being. I will not be able to protect you all the time."

"So, you were the reason why I survived the direct attack. I don't trust you, and don't expect me to. Tell me your name."

"My name is Summer Rose. She is coming. Watch the shadows." With that, the woman in white disappeared, leaving Brafez to his devices. He pulled out his scroll and contacted Welsha, who responded a few minutes later.

"Yeah?"

"Welsha, I need you to look up a name."

"Uh, right now? Sam and I are at-"

"Not right now. It can wait. The name is Summer Rose."

"Sure, I'll look into it. Talk to you later, kay?"

"Thanks. And Sis?"

"Yeah?"

"Enjoy your date."

"You little-!" Brafez shut off his scroll, smiling in spite of recent events. The next day would bring stranger things to light.

* * *

 _ **END OF CHAPTER ONE**_

 _ **A.N. Who is attacking Brafez? What does Summer want? Is Welsha on a date? Find out, on the next episode of WOLF!**_


	3. Failure

_**START OF CHAPTER TWO**_

* * *

 ** _Inverness, landing pad..._**

Brafez pulled on his duffel bag containing supplies for the trip, tightening the straps. Welsha and Katie had already said goodbye, now he was just doing some preliminary tests. Fenrir's grip was well-oiled and the blade was as sharp as ever. His gauntlets were charged and ready. The pilot was waiting for him in the cockpit.

The young Exterminator slapped the side of the bullhead and climbed aboard, the aircraft taking off into the winter air. A few hours were all that seperated him from a sunny day in the desert and his next assignment. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, the constant thrum of the engines soothing him.

* * *

He was on a cliffside, the snow falling in flurries. His lips were chapped and bleeding, but he didn't feel it. Instead, he felt a different kind of pain. A psychological pain, a mental horror. Brafez didn't know why he felt it, but the feeling overwhelmed him, swallowing all other emotions into an inescapable void of guilt.

 _You failed. They're dead because of you._

Brafez shook his head, trying to get the voice out. But the voice just kept repeating itself, over and over again. Images flashed in his vision, visions of his friends struggling for life, bleeding and broken, all saying one thing. _'I'm dying because of you.'_

"Don't listen. They're not dead, Brafez. And not because of you." Summer shouted from behind him, sounding far away. The edge of the cliff looked...enticing. Almost as if he wanted to jump. Jumping sounded...good.

Summer's pleads and cries went unnoticed as he took a step forwards, closer to the edge of the cliff. He was close...very, very close. Inverness lay stretched out below him. He'd land in the courtyard, and die on impact. He doubted that it would hurt. It would hurt a lot less than the voices in his head.

Before he could jump, two hands grabbed his shoulders, yanking him back. It was Summer and Welsha. They were shouting at him. Welsha was crying. She thought it was all her fault. That she couldn't protect him.

It only added to the guilt in his mind.

* * *

Brafez snapped awake, gasping for air. The bullhead was descending, Vacuo able to be seen from below. He read the briefing in a frenzied state, checking out the details. Twenty traders were asking for help from the Sect, and so they sent him. They were traveling twelve miles out to the village of Tarthual. It was small, and traders supplied it every few weeks.

The bullhead landed and he stepped out into the beating sun. There was a convoy of vehicles waiting a few feet away. The traders had set out before them, so now they only had eight miles to go. Once Brafez and the convoy leader exchanged pleasantries, they set off, Brafez hanging off the side. He didn't sleep for the next six miles, too afraid to. A mile away from the village, the ground started to shake.

Far away, a figure wreathed in black raised its clawed hand, black liquid crawling across its palm. The liquid resolved into a tube, bursting from a pool made of the same substance. The figure arranged its mandibles into a smile.

Sand rose from the desert due to the shaking and filled the air. Brafez blinked slowly, listening for a noise, one that he hoped to be wrong about. He wasn't wrong. The ground in front of them burst apart, a huge shadow covering the air. Brafez leapt off the vehicle and took out Fenrir, transforming it as he hit the ground.

Before he could engage, the sand cleared, revealing a black chitinous worm, white spears stuck to its hide. They were dead, all twenty of them. The moment the Grimm burst out of the desert, the traders were doomed. None of them would survive entering its maw. The entire length of the Grimm's mouth was lined with razor-sharp teeth, all twenty feet of it.

"Terra-strata." Brafez muttered, watching as the convoy disappeared into the mouth of the sandworm Grimm. The Terra-strata dug back into the ground, its belly full of metal, salted meat, and water. He powered up his gauntlets, ready for a fight. The Grimm did not resurface. "You're not getting away."

Brafez took out two vials of burn dust, throwing it into the sand and activating his Semblance. "Let's see how you breath in glass, you bastard." he muttered, slamming his fists into the ground and turning the sand in a mile radius into glass. The Grimm was trapped twenty feet below, squirming in a glass prison. Without oxygen, the Terra-strata would die a well-deserved, gruesome death.

The glass below him strained and shattered, the Grimm bursting out of the ground and flopping onto the slippery surface. It wouldn't be getting back underground, Brafez would make sure of it. He held out Fenrir in its elongated state, holding the head towards the Terra-strata. The worm scuttled across the ground at breakneck speed, the young Exterminator back-dashing away and bringing Fenrir's blade into the black hide. A roar gave him confirmation that he had struck a blow and wounded the worm.

The hundred-fifty foot beast slid past him again, cracking the window floor under its chitin. Brafez ran after the Grimm, burn dust trailing behind him. The Terra-strata tried digging back into the ground before Brafez grabbed it by the sphincter, hauling it out of the ground and throwing it fifty feet across the desert with the help of his burn dust. The next few minutes were spent dodging attacks and tearing chunks out of the Grimm, repeatedly in an endless dance.

The Terra-strata made a final turn, bolting at him faster than the speed of sound. He blinked, stepping aside and hooking Fenrir into its mouth, slicing through the skin like butter and cutting it open from the side. For good measure, he threw burn dust into the carcass and lit it, sitting down on the ground with his head in his hands. Once the burning inferno ended, Brafez threw Fenrir against its skin, dragging the blade across the Grimm's mouth and pulling it apart with burn dust. The traders were gone, shattered and shredded against the teeth. No one was breathing, or whole, and there was nothing left for him to do.

 _This was my fault. This was all my fault._ No matter how he tried, he couldn't call it coincidence. That Terra-strata showed up because of him, at the behest of the Grimm figure. He didn't know how he knew it, but he was certain that the figure could do it, could summon Grimm.

Brafez transformed Fenrir into its short version, putting the axe on his back. He pulled out a radio and pushed the button.

"T-This...this is Exterminator Rasputin. Critical mission failure. I repeat, critical mission failure. The traders are dead, every...last one of them. Terra-strata ambushed the caravan, but I managed to kill it." He breathed heavily, waiting for a response from anyone. He didn't expect a response from the leader.

"I hear you, Rasputin. Get to extraction, we're picking you up."

"Wait, what about the village?" Brafez asked hurriedly, looking at the town off in the distance. Without supplies, the residents would die of either dehydration or starvation within a week.

"Get to extraction. We have what we need." Brafez cast another glance at the village, but he did not mention the village again. He made his way to extraction, not looking back. If he did, he wouldn't be able to leave. As he pulled himself into the bullhead, his scroll buzzed. It was from Welsha.

"Y-Yes?" Brafez asked, holding it to his ear.

"Brafez? What's wrong?! What happened?" Welsha asked, hearing the futility in his voice.

"I...I'll tell you about it later. Why'd you call?"

"You know that lead that you wanted me to look into?"

"Yeah?"

"Summer Rose is dead."

* * *

 _ **END OF CHAPTER TWO**_

 _ **A.N. Also, updates are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Forgot to mention that.**_


	4. The Ghostly Rose

_**START OF CHAPTER THREE**_

* * *

 _ **Seconds later...**_

"Wait...What?" Brafez asked aloud, trying to see if he had heard that right.

"She's dead, Brafez." Welsha explained.

"No...No she isn't. I _saw_ her."

"She's been dead for years. Went out on a mission and didn't come back. Left behind a family, but...well, that's the risk you take being a Huntress." Brafez shifted gears, struggling to believe that he had seen a ghost.

"They ever find a body?" He could hear her cringe over the audio. He suddenly didn't feel like asking again.

"The pictures aren't pretty. That's for sure."

"Look, I'll talk to you later." He shook his head and put away his scroll.

* * *

 _ **Inverness...**_

Brafez walked into the leader's study, taking a seat in a leather chair in front of the desk. He'd been ordered upon landing to report immediately to the leader's study at the top of Inverness. Welsha and Katie had been waiting for him at the landing pad, and it pained him to just push them aside because of orders. Now that he was here, all he had left to do was wait.

"Exterminator Rasputin. I am surprised to see that you are here so...early." The leader mused, taking a seat at his desk. Brafez stared ahead blankly, not responding. "Well, now I can confirm what we feared. The Grimm that is haunting you is an ancient being called the Watcher. Before we just had legends to go on, but now we have concrete evidence."

"Was that evidence worth the lives of twenty innocent people?" Brafez whispered, the leader coughing and continuing.

"With this evidence, we can start searching for this Grimm and bring it here-"

"What are your endgame goals, Mangeele?" Brafez asked, looking up at him. He had been listening to his voice, trying to remember where he had heard it before. Now he knew. The Sect was in the hands of a monster.

"You mean 'our'."

"No. Not at all. What do you want with this...Watcher?"

"Me, personally? I don't believe that you have clearance for that information, Exterminator." Brafez sighed and looked the doctor in the eyes, blinking twice. He knew now, knew what his goal was. He wanted to control the Grimm, use this Watcher to wage a physiological war on the Grimm and any who opposed him. Brafez did what Welsha would tell him to do and kept his mouth shut. When faced with inescapable odds, wait, go along with the plan until an opportunity arises, and then get the hell out.

"I know what you want." Brafez saw Mangeele reach for a firearm under his desk. "I only have one question. When do we start?"

The question stunned the doctor. He hadn't been expecting that, especially from an individual who identified so closely with the creatures of Grimm. He brought his hand back onto the desk, straightening his posture.

"My apologies, Exterminator. I am willing to do anything to see this plan through. May I ask for a recommendation of who to send out to look for this Grimm?"

"I'd ask the Seventh Column. They're good at their job. Don't worry, doctor. We both know how much I hate fighting Grimm. The best way to put aside that hate is to remove the problem, is it not?" Brafez inquired, watching the doctor crack a small smile. "You want this thing alive, you've got to keep me alive. Without me, that thing disappears. As do your plans. So, why not combine our interests over a common goal?"

"You...make a thrilling argument, my friend. I...shall look into it. For now, I'll be sending you select, specialized missions. I want to see how this Grimm summons other Grimm out of thin air."

"I'd be careful, Mangeele. The more jobs you make me fail, the more that Grimm gets closer to its goal. It wants me to die. If it gets inside my head... What I'm saying, is that we have a limited timeline before I go off the deep end. Get your men in place and start looking." Brafez stood up, walking out of the room. When the door closed, he shivered all over. What he'd agreed to...it went against everything he stood for. But if it gave him the chance to stop the doctor's plans, he'd take it.

When he reached the lobby, Welsha was waiting for him next to the elevator. She grabbed his hand and lead him away, taking him to their apartment and locking the door.

"Spill." She ordered. So, Brafez told her. He told her everything that had happened. The doctor's plans, his failure, the Grimm. Everything. When he finished, she stood against the wall, rubbing her temples.

"Bro...bro, bro, bro, bro...You are in some deep shit." She muttered, shaking her head.

"I don't think that covers half of it. But if I'm right... This Watcher is going to drive me to suicide. I can't stop it. I won't be able to. I need you to get the Seventh Column in on this, get them to start looking for the Watcher. We don't have a lot of time, a month at the most."

"Suicide? Brafez... You've always been strong. But _this_... I'll do what's necessary. Whatever it takes." Welsha walked over to him, placing her head against his. "You're my brother. I'm not losing you."

"Thanks Sis. If...if I don't-"

"Brother. I'm not going to let that happen."

"I know. But if it does...hide yourself. Hide Katie. Tell her that she's been the bestest friend I could ever ask for. Live for yourself. Not for me."

"...okay." She nodded her head, kissing him on the cheek. He wasn't the top Exterminator in the world right now, he was a kid. A scared kid and her brother. And he needed her. They stood there, quiet and solemn.

"Thanks Sis."

"No problem. You needed it."

"I did. You're right." She smiled, squeezing him tightly.

"Never thought I'd hear you say that." Welsha responded, taking his hand in hers and opening the door. "Come on. I need to ask for a favor."

* * *

 _ **The Seventh Column's control room...**_

Welsha stood in front of the entire order, glaring at her feet. Brafez was waiting for her outside. She took a breath and spoke.

"So, will you help me?" Church and Tex exchanged nervous glances, looking around the room. Everyone was nodding their head. They might not have agreed with his ideals, but they were not about to see an eight year old commit suicide, especially when they could help prevent it.

"It appears...You have yourself a deal." Tex stated, walking over to Welsha. "We'll start looking immediately."

"Thank you... Thank you so much."

"We know how much he matters to you. We're not about to watch a Sister in need break down."

Welsha nodded eagerly, but she knew that they were right. Brafez was the only thing keeping her together. No one walked away from losing their entire family in a sane condition. A psych report had declared her unstable, and unfit for combat. How she had managed to hold herself together for this long was a mystery.

"Thanks Tex. I'll join you as soon as I can."

Outside, Brafez waited patiently. A breeze travelled down his back, Summer appearing next to him.

"Hello." Brafez muttered, looking to his left. "You seem pretty lively for a dead woman. What do you want?"

"That Terra-strata wasn't your fault."

"Really? We both know that it was." Summer shrugged in response.

"Sorry. I was just trying to cheer you up."

"Don't quit your day job."

"This _is_ my day job." Brafez looked at her skeptically, making her cringe slightly. "I'm just trying to keep you alive and sane."

"You're a ghost. I'm starting to think that maybe I _am_ insane."

"I prefer the term 'phantasmal presence'."

"Do you know where the Watcher is?"

"Sadly, I am not privy to that information. If I could, I'd tell you."

"Well, had to try. Got any tips?"

"Yeah. For one, the Watcher's blind." With that, the ghostly Rose disappeared, leaving him alone.

"A Grimm called the Watcher is blind? How ironic." Brafez mused, jumping slightly as Welsha opened the door. "How'd it go?"

"We're starting the search tomorrow morning. You should get some rest, and eat something, would you?" She replied, taking him by the wrist and leading him to their apartment. He smiled. Perhaps there was hope for him yet.

* * *

 _ **END OF CHAPTER THREE**_


	5. Shattered Plans

_**A.n. Sorry about the delay, kept getting a 503 service error, so I wasn't able to access my account. Anyway, enjoy.**_

 _ **START OF CHAPTER FOUR**_

* * *

 _ **Three weeks later...**_

Brafez rested his head against his seat, the ocean flying by below. It had been nearly a month of searching, with no results. The Seventh Column had scoured all of Remnant for the Watcher, and came up with nothing. Two members had died, Caboose and Sister, and they had been mourned. The less said about Brafez's mental state the better. If Welsha was the foundation of the biggest skyscraper in the world, he was a rickety shack in comparison.

Suicidal thoughts were the least of his worries, with vivid hallucinations and insomnia coming daily thanks to the Watcher. Summer was doing the best she could to ease his suffering, but it barely helped. He could barely lift Fenrir, much less fight. Every mission he had been sent on resulted in civilian casualties, and was most likely just a ploy by Mangeele to see how long he could last. And while he had lasted quite a while, Brafez was at his breaking point. If they didn't find the Watcher soon...

"Brafez? How're you doing?" Welsha asked across from him. He looked up at her with exhausted eyes. She bit her lip in shame, looking down at her lap.

"Not your fault, Sis. We both knew that I wasn't going to die in a bed." He replied, noting the look in her eyes.

"I'm your sister. I'm supposed to protect you. You're being destroyed...and I can do nothing to stop it, to make the pain go away. Even if I kill the Watcher, you're going to stay this way. This won't go away just like that." It hurt her to see him like this, at the end of his limits. Before, killing Grimm had been heavy on his soul, but now he couldn't even stand to fight. He'd rather die.

"Welsh...look at me. I'm a mess. I'm not going to survive."

"Brafez, you don't understand. I'm not just doing this for you, I'm doing this for the both of us. Without you...I'll fall apart."

"I know..." He didn't need to explain, she knew why.

"I...appreciate your honesty Brother. Thank you. Once we get home, I'll make sure you have a...a good couple last days. If it comes to that. We won't stop looking."

"I know you won't. I ain't dead yet. I still have some time."

"Hey you two! We've got another six hours till we reach Inverness, so I would suggest getting some sleep. I'll wake you when we get there." The pilot called back from the cockpit.

"Thanks." Welsha replied tightly, walking over to her brother and sitting down next to him, putting his head against her shoulder. "I've got you, Bru. I won't let you go."

"Thanks...Welsh." Brafez muttered, eager to rest, but not to dream. To dream would mean entering the nightmare again. But maybe...just maybe, it would tell him something.

* * *

He was on the mountain again. He wondered if he would wake up when he hit the ground this time. Probably not. Things just didn't seem to be working out for him.

The Watcher was doing its job just fine, all eighty-seven eyes on him. Though there were many eyes, he felt just one truly watching him. It was the black orb behind the Grimm, always hovering over its shoulder.

Brafez had an inkling. He whistled and sprinted off to the side, with the Grimm's head following the sound. So, it was blind, except for that orb. Seemed rather redundant. When he looked down the cliff, he saw a castle. But not any castle, it was one he knew by heart.

 _Inverness..._

That castle was Inverness. The Watcher had been hiding under their noses this entire time. Considering he didn't have many options left, Brafez turned to the Grimm and cleared his throat, the Watcher's head jerking towards his voice.

"Hi there. I know that you're trying to kill me and all, but, I want to ask you questions." He sat down in the snow, throwing rocks at the spot across from him. "Probably not the best idea on my part. Have a seat."

The Grimm hissed something and sat down in the spot, its robes bunching up. The next few minutes were spent in silence, occasionally broken up by hissing.

"How old are you?" Brafez inquired, with the Grimm tilting its head to the side. It held up a two-clawed hand, the molted appendages taking the shape of a one, and then three -no, four- zeros. He whistled with half-awe and half-annoyance. "So, I just guess that getting little kids to commit suicide is how you get off?"

The Grimm shook its, no, not it, _her_ head. The Watcher was a female. Brafez shook with rage and looked at her with anger and confusion. If the Grimm didn't do this regularly, why now? Why him? "Then why?"

For a moment, the Watcher stared at him and he stared back. Then, the Grimm spoke in a deep, gravely feminine voice.

"Protect...family. You end...all. We want home, but moon is gone to us. We banished here." The Grimm spoke in broken Remnant, raising a clawed hand and dragging the black orb through the air until it stopped at his face, inches away. Inside the orb, he saw Mangeele dissecting Grimm. There was no gain involved. "To protect us from you, from him, sacrifices are needed. You have been chosen. You are needed."

"I...I don't understand. Because of me, your kind will die?"

"Our family so few left. We all reform, but not the same. You will end us all. You may not mean to, but you will. It is your destiny to. Prophecy demands it."

"How could I... _I'm just a kid."_ He exclaimed, running an exhausted hand down his face, feeling tears run against his cracked skin. The Watcher stood up, walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. She was crying as well, an inhuman sound escaping her mandibles.

 _"Yes. Children cruel. Children monsters."_

* * *

When he woke up, Welsha was running a hand through his hair. The bulkhead had landed, and Katie was waiting for him on the landing pad. Her brother held her hand, eyes locked with Welsha's. Samantha, a blonde-haired ruffian, was on the other side, her head hanging low. They all felt for him, either being friends of his or of his sister.

He looked off to the side, seeing Terracotta hanging around the entrance, twirling a butterfly knife in her hands. It was a relief that she was there, since she too had begun to be haunted by the Watcher. They had a plan to lure the Grimm out. It wasn't a good plan, or a sane one, but it was all they had. Brafez hoped it would work. They'd been working on it for the past few weeks, trying to find alternatives to the final solution, but they couldn't.

"W-Welsh. I know where she is." Brafez managed to say, his lips dry. "The Watcher."

"Tell me when we get inside." Welsha responded, picking him up and carrying him into Inverness. He fell asleep as her feet touched the wool carpet on the hallway's floor. He didn't want to sleep again. Just in case he didn't wake up. He heard the sound of rock cleaving through flesh and bone and looked up, just in time to see Welsha's head roll off her neck and hit the floor with a wet _thud._ The Watcher floated behind her back, a scythe made out of obsidian in her hands.

 _"WELSHA!"_

* * *

 ** _END OF CHAPTER FOUR._**


	6. To War

_**START OF CHAPTER FIVE**_

* * *

 _"WELSHA!"_

"Yes, brother?" His not-beheaded sister asked, looking down at him with worry and confusion.

"S-Sis? You're not dead?" Brafez whimpered, looking at her with hopeful and skeptical eyes.

"No...I'm not. You just had one too?"

"Y-Yeah...I hate those visions, or whatever they're called. I just want this to end."

"Me too brother, me too." Welsha sadly agreed. The sooner this was over, the sooner Brafez could start to recover.

Church was waiting for them at the Seventh Column's door, holding it open for the two Exterminators. Once they were inside, he shut the door behind them and walked into the debriefing room, taking a seat at the head of the bleachers. He cast his eyes over the group of orphaned teenagers he called family, his face like stone. There were so few now. Not that there had been that many to begin with, but, still. They looked ready to die just to get a shot at the Grimm who had killed their friends. He hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Tex sat by his side, her expression the same. She had been close with Sister, and now she considered this a personal matter. He knew how she got with personal matters, and it wasn't good or pretty. Brafez was curled around his sister, coughing up a storm. He was pale, his once clear eyes now dulled and exhausted. That was a good way to describe everyone in the room. Yes, utterly exhausted beyond hope. Once they got through this, he'd call for a few months of downtime. It was the least he could do.

"So," he started, looking at the boy they were all fighting to protect. His next words would either get them all killed or earn them a one-way trip to a tropical island resort. "Brafez, seems like you figured out where this Grimm is. Care to share?"

All eyes turned to the young Exterminator, expectant and eager. He struggled to his feet and walked to the center of the room. "Y-Yes, I do. Know where the Watcher is, that is. She's been here the entire time."

A few collective gasps were given at the answer, yet all shared the same feelings of disbelief and shock. A Grimm, hiding near the most secure fortress on Remnant? Surprised they didn't figure it out sooner. Church felt his mouth go dry. He struggled to swallow and stood up.

"Really? We've combed over half the mountainside with no results, and now you're telling us that we missed it?" Church inquired incredulously.

"I know that it seems crazy, but, just listen to me. She's hiding up above Inverness, on a cliffside!"

"Leon, Mount Joseph is pretty high up, isn't it?" Tex asked, giving Brafez an apologetic grimace.

"And?"

"We haven't sent scouts up there, have we?"

"No, I considered it too dangerous to climb."

"So, what are we waiting for?! Let's go kill that monster!" Sarge exclaimed, standing up and waving around his shotgun.

"Yeah!"

"Enough! We're not just going to go in guns blazing and get ourselves killed! Tex, get some scouts to study the area and see what they can find. Brafez, go-...Brafez?"

"I...don't feel so good..." Brafez coughed out, blood running down his lips. A large blotch started to soak through his shirt, coming from a wound on his stomach. He stumbled and fell to the floor, shocking everyone in the room. No one noticed the knife fall out of his sleeve.

"BRAFEZ!" Welsha cried, immediately rushing to his side before being blasted back as the lights flickered and died. The sound of panicked cries filled the room before a blood-curdling scream bounced around the walls. As the lights flickered on, they were treated to a terrifying scene. The Watcher stood over Brafez, an obsidian scythe's blade impaling the only Faunus in the room.

"Terracotta! No!" The Faunus' eyes met Welsha's before she weakly held up a burn dust grenade, the trigger already activated. The next few seconds were spent watching on in terror as the grenade exploded, vaporizing the young girl and burning the Grimm's arm. Brafez had already leapt into action, curling burn dust around the Watcher and trying to strangle it with fire or give someone else an opening. Yet before anyone could try anything, the Watcher curled in on herself and Brafez, dark energy burning out the lights as they disappeared.

"B-Brafez..." Tex echoed subduedly, stunned into shock. Fenrir lay where the two adversaries had vanished, dormant without it's owner.

"Bru...Bru, stop joking around... You can come out now." Welsha's attempt at rationalizing the situation only served to further disturb the rest, her shallow voice crying out for someone who was no longer there. "Brafez? This...this isn't funny. Just come on out. I won't force you to eat ever again! Brafez! Brafez! BRAFEZ, GET OUT HERE!"

"Welsha, he's gone." Church whispered from across the room, flinching as she faced him.

"Gone? GONE?! People don't just become GONE! He's around here somewhere, I know it!" Her sharp tone bit at his heart.

"Sister Pierre, the Watcher took him with her." Wyoming stated, trying to reason before she pushed him against the wall, holding her staff's blade against his throat.

"NO! YOU'RE LYING! GRIMM DON'T DO THAT. ALL THEY DO IS KILL AND MAIM AND DESTROY! THEY DON'T...they don't take prisoners...I know that for a fact." She gently released him, her voice quivering as she dropped her staff and fell to her knees, crying out the names of her family and her brother.

"She...she saw the Watcher when none of us could... Dammit TC...you just had to be the hero." Carolina cried, trying to stay strong before finally breaking down as York comforted her.

"Tex, get...get everyone ready." Church managed, storming out of the room. This was getting to be too much for him to take.

"Church, I can't...they need time."

" _Brafez doesn't have time_. Gather everyone who can function and meet me."

"Where will we go?" He stopped at the door and sighed, shaking his head as his hands trembled.

 _"We're going to war."_

* * *

 _ **Mount Joseph...**_

"Shit." Brafez muttered as he struggled to sit up. The Watcher had dropped him off at the cliffside overlooking Inverness, before immediately teleporting away. He couldn't control burn dust he couldn't see, which meant that whatever damage that had been inflicted on the Grimm had healed by now. "Sorry TC, looks like our plan didn't work as well as I hoped it would. See you on the other side, comrade."

While their suicidal plan hadn't worked quite as well as they had hoped it would, Brafez still had one goal in mind. It wasn't surviving, no, he was too far gone for that. He just wanted to kill that monster before she could try anything like this ever again. No one deserved to suffer like he had. That was his end goal. He would miss Welsha and Katie, but, he hadn't expected to die in a bed. If he had to go out like this, it would be on his own terms.

Brafez struggled to his feet, resting inside an ident in the cliff face. From what he could see, it was a long fall to the bottom from off the cliff's edge.

"S-Summer...Summer, can you hear me? Summer, I need you." A few moments later the shade of the late Rose appeared, helping him stand up.

"Yes, what do you need?" Brafez hardened his eyes, slowing his breathing and rubbing his hands together, friction turning to fire. He cauterised the wound in his stomach, and then started carving into the rock wall with his ignited fingers.

"Get me a tarp."

* * *

 ** _END OF CHAPTER FIVE_**

 ** _A.N. That plan was very unclear. Apologies. Brafez was to injure himself which would lure in the Watcher, at which point Terracotta was to try and kill her with a grenade. Or twenty. If this failed, she had a back-up plan to blow herself up and give Brafez pure burn dust to destroy the Watcher with. As you can tell, it didn't work out that well._**


	7. A Thousand Fickle Knives

_**START OF CHAPTER SIX**_

* * *

 _ **Inverness...**_

Though you could say many things about Doctor Mangeele, you could not say he was lazy. When the Seventh Column had came to him in the middle of the night requesting access to chase after the Watcher, he had given them everything they needed and more. Though they had their doubts, the Column had eagerly accepted his help, attributing the fast response to his attachment to Brafez. That was absolute bullshit. He was a heartless bastard, only concerned with capturing the Watcher and studying her. It was for science, pure and simple. Cruel, inhumane, abominable science that only a monster could dream up.

And he was _just_ the monster for the job. The construction teams turning his quarters into the head of a wolf were rather loud, so much so that he couldn't hear the sounds of dying Grimm in the Farm. It displeased him greatly. Almost as much as the Column's grieving. Sure, people died, but did they really have to spend days mourning over a mass of flesh? He had half a mind to complain about it on Inverness-Book, besides, it's not like the population liked him. They hated him and he knew it.

But that fact was no problem. In fact, he got off on people hating his guts, because only an asshole such as himself could commit war crimes and get away with it. The few samples of the Watcher that had been recovered from the attack on the Column lay on his desk in Petri dishes, giving off a nice, burnt smell. He loved the smell of cooked Grimm in the morning. It really set off a fire in his loins. A good excise of military might also helped, with two bullheads full of Exterminators climbing into the air cutting the falling snow in half. They were headed to the top of Mount Joseph, with strict orders to capture the Grimm alive.

He knew that the sister of Brafez Rasputin would try to intervene, try to save him. She was merely an obstacle, her love blinding her from the scientific achievements that could be gained from capturing the Grimm. She would have to be disposed of, along with her brother, and anyone who had connections with them. So, a lot of people were going to die, just because they knew a seven-year old boy and his adopted eleven-year old sister. Perfect.

* * *

Welsha pulled out several bottles of various medications, carefully counting out so as to not accidentally overdose. She was barely able to not have a psychotic breakdown when the Watcher took Brafez and killed Terracotta. It truly spoke to how much she needed him in her life to function. She'd liken it to a child losing their favorite teddy and going off on a murderous rampage and/or breaking down in tears.

With the appropriate dosage in order, she swallowed each pill one after the other and waited, hoping that she had made the correct guess. Since she didn't drop dead after five minutes, Welsha gathered up her staff and keycard along with a duffle bag, heading to the armory. After a swift jog, she wound up at the armory's door, the keycard warm in her hands. As the door opened, she took out a roll of industrial-strength duck tape and held it at her waist, eyeing the various dust-based projectile weapons. The sound of weapons being stuffed into a bag quickly followed.

With her loot in hand(bag), Welsha walked to the hanger bay and climbed aboard an awaiting bullhead that held Church, Tex, Wyoming, Washington, and Sarge. She noted their expressions of a need to avenge Terracotta, their rage that was slowly devouring their humanity, and nodded. She had not known Terracotta personally, but she was still family. She nudged Church, who banged on the side of the bullhead to signify that they were ready. Once the doors were closed, the purple-haired girl unceremoniously dumped her stolen weapons on the floor.

"Damn. You sure came prepared." Tex remarked, watching as she began to haphazardly apply judicious amounts of duck tape and connect many weapons into a single firearm.

"I'm getting my brother back, even if I have to go through Hell to do it." Welsha muttered in a terse voice, pumping the...pump of an attached shotgun. The bullhead bumped as it hit some turbulence before levelling out after a few minutes, Wyoming rattling off many, _many_ air-based puns in his distinctive British accent. The others considered this to be vastly inappropro but held their tongues. The use of 'inapropro' in that sentence was also vastly inappropriate.

The rest of the trip was silent, each thinking of what they had been fighting for. For the leaders of the Column, it was so that no more orphans were made by the Grimm. A noble cause, yet ultimately futile. They could not be everywhere at once. For Welsha, it was family and sanity lost that she was trying to regain. She knew it was a wasted effort, but she had to try. Wyoming was fighting for a simpler reason: Exterminators get tons of bitches. Washington just liked the home-cooked food and the vast collection of books. They all longed for simpler times.

There would be no simpler times after this day.

* * *

The Watcher turned to the sky and howled, a mixture of grief and anger clawing out of her throat. She remembered the day when Dark met Light, when the Heart had sent its blood after them all, to slaughter them. Ask her of the day the Heart turned its back on love to drink in desire, and she would answer with but a word: Betrayer. They had been so eager to discover a new world, to bathe in fresh light. A few trampled accidents had broken that dream. They were fighting for survival, an endless fight against the Ones Who Kill, known as Barsküld in the tongue of the old-ones, the true Dark and Grimm.

The Heart merely a vessel for a dead God, it held no bearing over the Grimm of Remnant, had no love for them. To the Heart they were a nuisance beyond fickle. They were Prey, and like all animals, a God will Hunt. But it was the Prey who had cut the Heart of God with a thousand fickle knives and turned their heart black as Grimm, and pulsing with the blood of a dead God. These stories remain forgotten, as they should be. But not all forgotten things are lost. The Watcher knew this. She herself was an example. The arrival of the new Wakujui had awoken the ancient Grimm from her slumber, forced her out of hiding.

She knew that the Heart was responsible. She could feel the gnawing sensation in her stomach tighten as she looked to the sky to find the moon. The moon was ringed with fire and the blood of a dead God. The Watcher sniffed the air and sighed. She could smell the blood off in the distance, the one known as Smoggyues Plutoniud, the Barsküld that had been hunting her so many years ago. And as she had returned, so did he. He was a Barsküld like no other, able to break trees between his teeth and bench press planets. Rumor had it that he had never died, a feat considered impossible for most Barsküld. But, Smoggy was unlike any other Grimm.

The Watcher turned and headed further inside her fortress of rock, knowing that the past had come back to haunt her. The hunt was back on, and the blood of dead Gods did not rest. She was a dead Grimm for sure.

* * *

 ** _END OF CHAPTER SIX_**


	8. Origins- Grimm

_**START OF CHAPTER SEVEN**_

* * *

 ** _In reference to a time long past..._**

The origin of the Grimm are speculated by many, and known to very few. Those that remembered the day the moon split were long dead, the truth dying with them. Stories were passed around on both planets, each wanting an answer to a question they dared not ask. That is why knowing all is helpful. The story behind the Grimm, and by association, the moon, is a long and bloody one. Now, to begin, humans and fauna existed before the Grimm, yet they were far more advanced than the present day Remnant. They had crossed the space between stars and built the moon into a paradise, filled with only a few animals and nothing else. These early humans did not consider themselves worthy to have a place on the moon, that only the purist of animals could be so worthy.

And so it stayed that way for a thousand years. But that all changed when a man entered the world from the outer system and landed on the moon. He was feared by the animals and respected by mankind, and was considered a God in time. The God of Time, Aezoroyth. However, he was but a man, though the otherworldly powers that he had begged to differ. When the man bled, his blood was black as the starless abyss he had come from. Like all men, he enjoyed the hunt, and killed nearly every animal on the moon. The men of Remnant declared him a God. But of the few that dared to walk his divine grounds, he was horror incarnate. Arms longer than the sky, a face like daggers of blood. All he would ever do was hunt.

One day, when he was hunting, a pair of Faunus entered the paradise and were killed in the ensuing confusion. The Humans were too blinded by their faith to be angry at the God and went on about with their worshiping. The Faunus were not so forgiving. A hundred stormed the moon, and, with the help of the animals, struck down the so-called God. As the God lay there, bleeding to death, the intruders tore out his heart. In a cruel twist of fate, be it by a strange desire or a need for revenge, they drank the dead God's blood. The first to do this was the wolf, despite its noble stature. Then the rest of the animals followed in kind, each turning black as night. And, be it by insanity or some other reason, so did the faunus. Thankfully, no ants had drank the blood, or else humanity would be fucked. Hard.

This is how the Grimm were born. When the humans learned of their God's demise, they tried to access the moon. They could not enter. By magic or science, the moon had been shut off to them. And so, the humans sulked back to their homes, in time forgetting about their anger and their God. But the Grimm did not forget. And, they could not leave the moon. So powerful was their grief over their lost home that it shattered the moon and filled the world with dark, wiping out millions of humans and fauna alike and bringing civilization back to the stone age. The animals ravaged their way across the land, but the Barsküld did not follow. They had built an empire on the moon, were happy with their lives. As the Grimm stormed the earth and explored a land thought lost to their kind, the heart of the dead God awoke. The Heart of Dark had risen to beat once more.

Twenty-one Barsküld were sent down to hunt their kind, and purge the land of Grimm. They fought for a thousand years while humanity recovered from the devastating arrival of the first Grimm. By the time humanity could stand on its feet again, shards of skin from the dead God had impacted the earth, empowered by the elements. With this power, humanity pushed back against the dark, inadvertently joining the Barsküld in their endeavour.

One Barsküld, however, pittied the Grimm and tried to rebel against the Heart of Dark. This went about as well as you'd expect, which is to say, not at all. The other Barsküld easily captured the rogue Grimm and forced her to merge with the Heart, horribly disfiguring her and granting her the power of creation. This Barsküld, once known as Lilith, was now branded by a new name: the Watcher. Before she could be tried and executed, she escaped with the help from Remnant-borne Grimm, hiding for centuries. The other Barsküld hunted her down again and further disfigured her, but yet she still managed to escape. For decades this game of cat and mouse went on, but the question of who was on which side went unanswered.

With their numbers dwindling, the Barsküld gave up their hunt and returned to the moon, occasionally traveling back to Remnant to imbue chunks of skin from their dead God with different elements and to absorb the Dark inside the skin. Before they left, the Barsküld genetically altered the human genome with the recessive trait of being very good at killing Grimm. With her hunters having left, the Watcher set about on gathering an army to protect herself against the Heart and the new threat of the Wakujui gene. That is this story of the origins of the Grimm and the shattered moon.

Now, back to the present...

* * *

 _ **Present day...**_

Brafez carefully ran his glowing fingers through the spaces between the cave's wall and the tarp that Summer had brought him. If he was going to do this right, the seal would have to be air-tight. With the tarp properly sealed, Brafez retreated to the back of the cave, sitting down crossed-legged. He held his hands against his knees, facing upwards. A pair of fireballs sparked to life in his palms, growing larger every second. The air started to heat up as he pushed the two fireballs together, Summer appearing behind him.

"What exactly are you doing?" Summer asked, fanning herself with her hand.

"I'm going to try something very dangerous. Remember that saying, 'necessity is the mother of invention'? Replace invention with evolution." Brafez replied, the ball of fire growing at a slower pace than before.

"That didn't answer my question at all- why is it so hot in here?"

"The temperature of the surface of this fire is around three-thousand degrees Fahrenheit. So, very hot. I'm attempting to master my Semblance in a short amount of time by a very simple method. I must shrink this ball as the heat increases exponentially before that tarp catches fire." The fireball turned from orange to blue, almost as if to enunciate his point.

"How do you know this will work?"

"I read it in a history book."

"..." Summer wore an expression that said she doubted his credibility.

"Well, since you don't believe me, I'll recount the tale. Around...Oh, seven hundred years ago, in Mistral, an erupting volcano endangered the local populace. So, these seven monks, all with a fire Semblance banded together to save the day. The problem was, none of them knew how to use them. So," Brafez squirmed as the ball shrank down to the size of a golf ball, glowing a brilliant purple. By that point, the heat was starting to affect him, even with his high tolerance. "When the volcano erupted, they all banded together and stopped it long enough for the city to evacuate. Of course, they died afterwards, but that isn't important right now."

"Monty, it's like a sauna in here."

"That's because this ball right here is burning at eighteen-thousand degrees Fahrenheit. I'm guessing that you haven't looked at the walls?"

He was right. She hadn't looked at the walls. They were all smooth and rounded out, resembling glass. And the tarp had yet to catch fire. He must of had excellent control over his Semblance.

The fireball in his hands was about the size of a pinky toe, and was starting to lose color. With only seconds to spare, Brafez shrank the fire down to the size of an atom, the fire burning sixteen times hotter than the surface of the Sun. He clapped his hands shut and stood up, the air cooling down dramatically. When he pulled his hands apart, a purple flame stood between them, revealing itself to be a replica of Fenrir. Brafez took the replica by the hilt and put it on his back, the fire not even scorching his clothes.

"All right. Watcher, here I come."

* * *

 _ **END OF CHAPTER SEVEN**_

 _ **A.N. Now, to those very few who've read A Week On the Job, you'd be very confused right now, and rightfully so. The story Persephone told Pandora was just a legend accepted as truth because they don't know the truth. This is the true back story of the Grimm (at least to my story.) So, yeah.**_


	9. Supernova

_**START OF CHAPTER EIGHT**_

* * *

 _ **Mount Joseph, Summit...**_

The Bullhead door slammed open, winter winds assailing the occupants. A quintet of Exterminators in matte black combat suits climbed out of the aircraft, dust miniguns attached to their wrists. Seconds later, seven more landed beside them, parachutes folding into their backpacks. One in extra bulky armor took place at the front of the group, pointing to a tarp covering a cave's entrance.

"Hey Jimmy, why's a tarp all the way up here?" One of the Exterminators asked over their COMMs.

"Don't know Billy. All I's told was to get this Grimm and capture it alive. If anyone tries to kill it, we kill them. Simple as that." The one to his right replied, shrugging.

"Hey, why's it so hot up here?" Another Exterminator asked aloud, pulling at his collar. As Billy was about to speak, they were all vaporized as a ball of fire exploded outward from behind the tarp, angling towards the sky before the ball stretched its wings, revealing itself to be a giant Phoenix. At the center of the bird was Brafez, the fire wrapping him in a warm blanket. He sniffed the air and reached out with his Semblance, sensing a few sparks hundreds of feet below, inside the mountain.

"I have you now, Watcher. My death shall not go unpunished!" Brafez yelled, folding his wings and dive-bombing into the side of the mountain, rock turning to liquid the instant his construct came close. Boring through the mountain wall, he entered a massive cavern filled with hundreds of thousands of Grimm, and, from what he could tell, most over a century old. They were blocking his path, and the Watcher was just on the other side of the crowd. The only problem was that said crowd was about three miles worth of Grimm. He shouldered up and got to work, doing what he did best.

* * *

 ** _Mount Joseph, six hundred feet up..._**

Welsha was the first to drop onto the snow covered ground, the rest of the Seventh Column following behind her. Church and Tex walked over to her, pointing the group of a hundred Exterminators towards a distant outcropping of rocks that formed an entrance into the mountain.

"Wash, you're in charge! Keep everyone alive!" Texas ordered, with Washington nodding and calling out for the rest of the group to follow his lead.

"What's going on?" Welsha inquired, checking her combi-weapon for the fifth time that minute.

"Look, just... I wanted you to wait out here but... Just, if we find Brafez and he's not in one piece-" Her fuming gaze silenced any further words.

"I don't care if he's in _forty-seven pieces,_ he's my brother. I'm getting him back, got it?" She replied harshly, taking her staff and storming after the rest of the Column. Church blew air through his teeth, shaking his head and walking after her.

"What's the matter?" Tex asked as she got up to him.

"She scares me."

A loud roar broke the night, and the three Exterminators took off towards the mountain entrance. Welsha was the first to step inside, hedging her weapon against her hip. The Column were stuck twenty feet away, tackling with a Ursa the size of a tank. The purple haired girl ran over to the group, pointing her combi-weapon at the Grimm and firing, turning the Ursa into bloody bits. She squinted down the dark tunnel and fired again, hearing a roar of pain from another of the forsaken beasts.

"We're clear. Let's go." Welsha muttered, running ahead, not caring if the group was following her or not. All that mattered was finding her brother, and, if possible, killing the Watcher.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile...**_

"By the power of the Sun," Brafez exclaimed, pointing the fiery axe's head at a dozen Beowulves, all extremely old. "I HAVE THE POWER!"

What followed was fire erupting from the ground, swallowing the Grimm in righteous fury. Whatever Grimm that were close to the twelve very unfortunate beasts were also vaporized, the fire dragging itself across the cavern and leaving a bloody trail in its wake. Brafez took a deep breath, holding his stomach. His Aura, however much he had left, wasn't going to last much longer.

He was using an outrageous amount every second that went by, just to keep his flames going. If he fell unconscious for even a second, he was dead. With this amount of Grimm, he'd have to think up something permanent, and fast. He formed a small invisible ball of fire, throwing it in the opposite direction before high-tailing it outside, getting just out of range as the nova bomb went off, killing all the Grimm inside. As he reentered the room, he thought that there was still Grimm inside, before realizing that only their shadows remained.

Landing and turning off his Semblance, he started walking across the cavern, meeting little resistance, presumably because they couldn't resist something if they were beyond dead. He could still feel the burn dust on the other side of the cavern, behind twenty feet of rock. Just as he reached the other side of the room, he heard slithering, followed by an obscenely loud thump as several sets of feet hit the ground. He turned around, cringing as he saw what every Exterminator feared most: A pair of Diaskijút, each easily over a hundred feet long and bristling with five-feet-thick bone-plating.

"Didn't think it'd be that easy." Brafez muttered, tightening his fingerless gloves and crouching down, a hand behind his back. The first dragon lunged at him, with Brafez jumping into the air and bringing Fenrir down into the Grimm's neck, the blade bouncing off the bone-plating, yet digging a good two feet into the neck bone. Confused? Brafez was not stupid, and had left behind a replica Fenrir in order to trick the Watcher into taking him with her. The only way to get her to do so was to appear unarmed, so, he had hid the axe in his shirt. Yes, it had been that easy.

This fight however, would not be. The Diaskijút were known as the most dangerous Grimm on Remnant, declared immortal by normal Hunters and nigh unkillable by Exterminators. Only seven had been killed over the past seven hundred years, each resulting in the victor's death afterwards. Brafez was not ready to join the dead just yet. He gracefully tucked under the second dragon's maw, hooking his axe into the soft gum and hurling himself towards the first, kicking it so hard in the eye that he both blinded it and broke his ankle. This was partly because he had to kick through several layers of transparent bone to get to the eye, and then get through a hardened outer shell designed to protect against tank shots. Yes, you read that right. Brafez's foot is more powerful than a blast from a _tank_. Deal with it. But, since he wasn't bound to mortal constraints such as _pain,_ he sent a good blast of fire through the eye cavity, vaporizing the Grimm's brain.

Sadly, with his foot still stuck inside the dragon's skull, and Fenrir in the second dragon's gums, he was left defenseless. The remaining Diaskijút roared with anger and grief, standing up on it's hind legs. Brafez watched on as the Grimm dove for him, jaws ready to snap shut in the blink of an eye. He twisted just as the Grimm bit down, tearing through the dead Grimm's jaw and skull like butter, tearing the front off in a fit of rage. With his foot free, Brafez leapt at Fenrir's grip, grabbing it and taking it with him as he bolted as fast as he could with a broken ankle. But, before he could even see the Grimm move, the one ton mass of bone on the end of the Diaskijút's tail lightly graced his side, cracking several ribs and sending him flying into the wall. He was lucky too. If the mass of bone had hit him dead-on, he wouldn't have ribs to shatter.

He coughed up blood, too much blood for a boy his age, so much that he thought he'd drown in it. Even though he couldn't feel it, he knew the pain had to be immense. He tried standing up, only to fall back down to his knees. The Diaskijút roared again, eager to end the human that had killed its mate, only for a whistling sound to grab its attention. Turning to the hole in the cavern's ceiling, the Grimm barely had time to react as a blurry shape cut the being in half, revealing itself to be a man over seven feet tall and covered in gold-plating, blood washing off his armor like rain.

The new arrival returned his broadsword to his back, turning to Brafez. With each step the ground thundered, his long black hair shimmering like the night sky. The collar of fur around his neck insulated his body from the cold, yet if he was cold from the neck up, he did not show it. His black eyes lay on the injured boy, clutching his stomach with one hand and struggling to stand up. The new arrival swirled some spit around in his mouth before spitting it into his hands, the spit forming into a golden teardrop. Upon reaching the boy, the stranger shoved his spit down Brafez's throat and made him swallow.

After a few extremely uncomfortable and confusing minutes, Brafez managed to stand up. He felt his bones healing slowly, rightening themselves so as to not heal improperly. When he managed to catch his breath, Brafez turned to the stranger and asked him a simple question.

"W-Who are you?"

"My name is Smoggyues Plutoniud, and you have led me to my quarry. Come, let us end this vile she-devil before she takes flight once more."

* * *

 _ **END OF CHAPTER EIGHT**_

 ** _A.N. The end of the Watcher is very near. And yes, I realize that Brafez is completely and entirely overpowered. The only reasons he won was because A) The Wakujui gene makes a normal person a walking tank, both in survivability and in strength, and B) Sheer dumb luck. Also, C) His Aura, despite it being very little, was strong enough to prevent a hole from appearing in his stomach._**


	10. Death to the Blind

**_START OF CHAPTER NINE_**

* * *

 ** _Mount Joseph, caverns..._**

"Why did you save me again?" Brafez inquired, limping after his saviour who had rapidly advanced into a tunnel that lead further into the mountain.

"You are a skilled Wakujui. It would be a waste to let you die now." Smoggy responded, putting his massive hand against Brafez's chest, just as a Beowulf rounded the corner. With a single cleave, he dispatched the Bellua Beowulf. Nodding at his handiwork, he continued further into the mountain, Brafez following behind him. The Watcher was still far away. They'd been traveling these tunnels for miles now, and the one they were after still didn't seem to get any closer. Getting rather fed up, Brafez punched a wall, seven fiery fists hitting the wall and melting the rock. Glancing down at his fist, and then at the Barsküld, he turned in the direction of the Watcher and walked over to the wall, punching it. He smiled at his rather blunt ingenuity, and began to hammer away at the wall, turning rock to dust as he advanced into the mountain.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile...**_

Welsha hammered home another round, tearing through a Beowulf with a pull of the trigger. This had been going on for quite a while, with the Seventh Column tearing into the mountain. The going hadn't been easy though. Most of the Grimm inside the mountain were easily hundreds of years old, and they'd already lost seven members to various attacks. The assaulting Grimm had been destroyed in retaliation, but they still kept coming.

Church pulled his sword out of an Ursa's neck, cleaning the bloody blade with the side of his shield. Tex had his back, an electric halberd held in her hands. She plunged the blade into a Creep's neck, beheading the Grimm in a single stroke. The rest of the Seventh Column were all having their own battles with the creatures of Grimm, most relatively quick and dirty. Welsha didn't spare them a second glance, carrying onwards until the tunnel she was in rounded off at the entrance to a massive cavern, a rock staircase leading up a rock tower into a darkened room. She knew that was where the Watcher was hiding.

Out of the darkness slithered an unspeakable abomination of Grimm, several dozen Taijitu heads coiling out of a mass of bone-plating, countless short stubby legs holding the base up. The creature was massive beyond belief, and all heads were focused on her. Welsha did the sensible thing and opened fire on the Grimm monstrosity, firing round after round into the beast until gun smoke obscured her vision and the barrels of her combi-weapon had melted into slag. She threw the obsolete weapon to the ground, thinking the Grimm vanquished, and started forwards, only to watch as the Grimm reared its heads out of the smoke to look down upon her, except this time there were _even more_ heads.

More pissed off than injured, the Grimm barreled towards her like a runaway train, lunging at the last second to bite her in half. Welsha threw up a portal in front of her and then another at a faraway wall, closing both of them and cutting the Hydra's heads off. Aptly named, the heads soon began to regrow, and in twice the amount. Then the Hydra lunged again, with Welsha throwing up another portal at the last second, trying to repeat her mild success. A split second before the Grimm entered the portal, it curled _around_ the portal and continued on. She rolled to the side, dodging the attack and bringing up her staff, sending massive amounts of dust at the Grimm only for her spells to harmlessly bounce off.

In retaliation, the Hydra reared back its heads, black energy gathering in its mouths. She managed to successfully dodge the first several blasts, and even managed to redirect a few back at the Grimm, but the last two were a glancing blow. Welsha fell to the ground, shivering and breathing heavily. It seemed like the attack was tearing away at her soul, trying to corrupt her from within. Before she knew what was happening, Tex was at her side, hands over her heart as the same dark energy that had hit her gathered in Tex's palms. The Hydra saw an opportunity and took it, tearing off Tex's left arm in a flurry of blood.

"Get to the Watcher! We'll hold this beast off!" Tex cried out, dragging her halberd around and catching the Grimm's attention. A few seconds later the rest of the Seventh Column showed up, Church fighting by her side. Welsha didn't waste time and took off for the outcropping of rock that lead up into the Watcher's lair. After ducking under several close-calls, she finally made it up the staircase and entered the chamber.

The moment her foot stepped into the chamber, the Watcher came at her from behind, impaling her on her scythe. Or, at least she thought she had. In truth, Welsha had used a combination of her portals and her second Semblance to make it appear as though she had been killed, when in actuality the Watcher had killed herself with her own blade. This tactic, while effective, took most of her Aura to use it convincingly. Which, obviously, was very dangerous, since she wouldn't be able to take that many more hits.

The Watcher yanked her scythe upwards, with Welsha manipulating her portal with her mind to remain convincingly stabbed. When the Watcher discovered her mistake, she threw Welsha across the room with the force of a thousand suns and slammed her against the wall, clawing away at her stomach. Welsha pulled into herself, kicking the Grimm away as she used the wall for balance. She threw herself forwards, punching the Watcher will all her might and sending the former-Barsküld through the air until she entered a double-sided portal, at which point Welsha clapped her hands together, closing the portal and cutting the Watcher in half at the waist.

The two halves hit the ground in a pool of black ichor, the Grimm crawling away from the advancing Welsha only to stop as the wall in front of her melted and imploded, with both Brafez and Smoggyues exiting the hole in the wall. In the moment that the two siblings locked eyes, the Watcher threw a bolt of dark energy at Brafez, the same the Hydra had thrown at Welsha.

 _Toki ga tomaru. (Time will stop.)_ Brafez felt himself enter a sort of hyper-awareness. It was a side effect of using his Intellect Semblance on his own mind, which in turn made him think at one two-thousandth of a second. In addition, he could move his limbs at the same speed, but after the affect wore off, he wouldn't be able to use the limb for a minute. It was for emergencies.

Brafez tilted his head to the side, the blast missing him by inches. He pulled out Fenrir, throwing a curved crescent of metal engraved with burn dust from the head of the axe into the Grimm's skull in the blink of an eye, spreading the dust throughout her brain and vaporizing it. The Watcher was finally defeated, slumping over with a shrill cry. However, while she might have been defeated, she was not dead. Not truly.

Smoggyues gently brushed past Brafez, picking up the Watcher by the neck and biting out her carotid artery with his teeth, drinking the life-blood of Dark from her veins while the two watched. Once every last drop of Dark had been drained from the Grimm, he threw her body away like kindling, his hunt having ended.

"Why'd you do that?" Brafez inquired, hugging Welsha tightly.

"To truly kill a Grimm, you must drink its Dark out until there is none left. What you humans have been doing is banishing them. The creatures just reform. There is another way, but it requires an extremely rare element of dust: Light dust, to be precise. Nevertheless, the Watcher is dead, and my hunt for her is complete. Thank you. But, I must take my leave. Goodbye." With that, Smoggyues disappeared in a burst of black energy, leaving the Watcher's body behind.

Before any words could be spoken between the two, a viscous scream came from outside the chamber.

"That sounds like Washington!" Welsha exclaimed, grabbing Brafez's arm and lugging him with her onto the staircase. The scene before them was horrible. Over sixty bodies lined the ground, massive bite wounds all over their skin. Amongst them all was Washington, clinging to the bodies of Texas and Church, hunched over and sobbing. The Hydra was gone, either dead or disappeared. The few remaining Column members were shivering on the ground, suffering from shock.

"Dear Monty... What happened?" Brafez muttered, horror in his voice. Wash stopped shivering, turned and looked up at them, tears in his eyes.

"It...it killed them. It killed them all. T-Then it just...disappeared." Welsha stumbled down the steps, walking over to the forlorn teen and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I couldn't...I couldn't save them."

"Wash...I..." She couldn't say anymore. The sight of her two leaders and so many friends dead had rendered her speechless.

"Welsh, come...come on. We need to get the others to safety." Brafez interjected, taking her by the hand.

"Wash..." She said, almost like a question.

"I...Go on without me. I...need some time." Wash responded, pointing to the remaining members. Brafez nodded, gathering the rest and leading them outside. Welsha pulled back, shaking her head and running off after Brafez, leaving Washington to his mourning.

Brafez and Welsha regrouped at where the Column had first landed, a trio of Bullheads landing in the snow, their doors opening. A pair of Exterminators in black suits stepped out, surveying the area. The first Exterminator walked up to Welsha, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Nice to have you back Sister Pierre, Brother Rasputin. Where's the rest of the Column?" He asked, looking behind them. Welsha shook her head in shame, the Exterminator's face dropping. "I see... You have my condolences. We need to get aboard and get you guys home."

"Wash is back there. You think we could leave one of the Bullheads behind so he doesn't have to climb down the mountain?"

"Yes. Of course." The two siblings set about to helping the Column board the Bullheads, Wash showing up after around thirty minutes. He was silent for the rest of the trip back to Inverness, as expected. When the Bullhead finally touched down again, Brafez stepped off with an enlightened look on life. Then he was promptly taken into surgery to receive blood transfusions, because Barsküld spit doesn't replace lost blood.

* * *

 _ **Doctor Mangeele's office...**_

"What is the status of the Watcher, Team Bravo?" Mangeele inquired, checking his nails absentmindedly.

"Destroyed sir." He curled his fingers with subdued rage, clearing his throat.

"Did I not specify that the Grimm was to be taken alive?"

"Apparently Sister Pierre did not get the memo, sir." His second-in-command replied with a subdued humor.

"Of course the sister would intervene. The status of the corpse?"

"Currently decomposing. We aren't getting it home."

"You have the suspension capsules?"

"Yes sir. How much should we use?"

"Enough to get it to the Farm, after which we'll take care of it. What's the status of the Rasputin boy?"

"Currently in surgery. He should be out within the hour. You have something in mind for him?" Mangeele closed his eyes, his cool demeanor clear. A thought sprang into his twisted mind, and grew at an alarming rate.

"I'm going to give him an offer he can't refuse."

* * *

 ** _END OF CHAPTER NINE_**


	11. The Farm

_**A.N. (Edit as of 10/6/15, or 6/10/15 for you non-American folk: HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT. GODDAMN. MOTHER. FUCKING. WRITER'S BLOCK. FUCK.**_

 _ **That is all.**_

 _ **Also, total hypocrite, but I've worked out some rough maths for my theory on Aura;**_

 _ **At its toughest state, 100 Aura can block one-ton of force.**_

 _ **So, just a basic list of characters' Aura levels;**_

 _ **Brafez- 300 Aura, yet uses it sparingly.**_

 _ **Ariad- 500 Aura**_

 _ **Olivia- 700 Aura, yet on her own (Without Aura) she can take 15 tons of force before being turned into red paste.**_

 _ **Juane- 1000 Aura**_

 _ **Just keep in mind, I'm taking these figures out from my ass. That's all.**_

 _ **START OF CHAPTER**_

* * *

 ** _Two months later..._**

The Hunt came to a close three days after his capture in the Spring. It wouldn't start again until the beginning of the next Winter, at which point the Grimm would be lulled into a false sense of security due to no attacks from the Sect, making them relatively easy pickings. What remained of the Seventh Column had been admitted to the various psychiatrists throughout Inverness, getting the help they needed. Welsha had been promoted to Column leader, despite her reluctance. Though her mind had been momentarily fractured, being around Brafez had "fixed" what damage had occurred.

Brafez was excited to still be alive, and with the Hunt over he was getting some much-needed healing. He still wasn't eating as much as he should, which resulted in his ribs showing through his skin whenever he breathed. Though, he was an eight-year-old, so seeing ribs wasn't the end of the world. Of course, since his life was beginning to take a turn for the best, everything had to go absolutely bat-shit insane. The first trace of the descent into madness came with a call, and an irrefutable offer.

* * *

 _ **Inverness, Rasputin-Pierre apartment...**_

Life was looking up for Brafez: no Hunts, no Grimm, and all his friends and family were alive and with him. So it hadn't occured to him that his life was about to fall apart as he took a bite of a burger, flashing a heartfelt smile Katie's way. Welsha and Marcus were cooking like good siblings, and while Brafez had an unnatural aversion to food, Marcus' burgers were to _die_ for. The way he managed to make the cheese fill in the grooves on the burgers... _simply astounding_.

Like all happy times, this had to end. The apartment went silent as Brafez's scroll went off, said boy taking it off the table and standing up. He held the device to his ear, listening.

"Exterminator Rasputin?" Brafez felt his breathing slow as he heard Mangeele's voice, the cold calculation in his voice making him shiver with disgust.

"Yes." Brafez replied, walking into the hall next to the kitchen.

"I would like for you to come to my office, effective immediately. I have...an offer for you."

"I'll be right there." The young Exterminator replied with a hiss, putting his scroll away and waving Welsha over.

"Here," Welsha muttered, handing him a dust pistol. "Be careful."

"Always am." Brafez responded, flashing her a small smirk as he shoved the pistol into his pocket, mecha-shifting the gun into a pocket knife.

He figured that she would know. She had been listening to his call through her scroll, having hacked into the network easily. It _was_ her business after all, being a spy.

"Yeah, and you always eat your food." Welsha coyly replied, opening the door for him.

"See you later."

Brafez walked out the door, waiting for a familiar ghostly presence to appear. He frowned when she didn't, and continued walking. Summer hadn't appeared in the past seven months, and he was starting to get worried. Sure, she was a ghost, but that didn't mean he couldn't be worried. Whatever could keep a ghost from him must've been very powerful.

He dismissed the thought as he walked into Inverness' courtyard, crinkling his nose as the smell of sulfur touched the air. It was coming from the Farm: during the past few months, the Farm had gone into overdrive, doing whatever they did at an alarming rate. If this offer had anything to do with the Farm, he would have to negotiate pretty damn well in order to get out of it. Even then, he wasn't sure that would do anything, or if it would make his situation worse. In other words he would go from being a living child soldier to being a dead child soldier.

And even though being dead would solve a few of his problems, he wasn't really eager to shuffle off his mortal coil just yet. He had a few things he wanted to do before he died.

A howl split the day, startling him. Brafez turned to his left, peering past the gate towards the sound.

It was coming from inside the Farm. Whatever was howling was certainly in grief, and he shook with empathy. The pure emotion that the Grimm was emitting made him wonder if the Grimm weren't soulless, even if his recent torture begged to differ. After a few minutes of soul-shattering howls, it abruptly cut off, leaving him with a sense of dread. He had the urge to melt the fence in front of him, break into the Farm, and rescue the Grimm. But, since that would get him killed, he opted to think of another way in.

It wasn't like he could just _ask_ for a...keycard...

"Brilliant." Brafez whispered, rushing off to meet with Mangeele. Maybe he could save whatever had made that noise.

* * *

He knew something was wrong the moment he stepped off the elevator. Mangeele's door was open, light pouring from the doorway and revealing an empty room. Brafez took out the pocket knife, holding it against his palm and taking a step towards the door. A slight movement caught his eye, and when he looked closer, he saw a gun barrel sticking out from the side of the doorway by three fifths of an inch.

The young Exterminator sighed, throwing the pocket knife through the bottom of the wall next to the door, cutting the man's Achilles heel and dropping him to the floor. Brafez rushed forward, kicking the man and knocking him out. He felt the cold metal of another barrel press against his temple, and activated his Semblance, moving his arm and snapping the assailant's wrist, making the man lose his grip on his weapon. Brafez grabbed the gun out of the air and fired three times into the second man's chest, dropping him.

Thankfully it was only a dust pistol, so his would-be assassin would only wake up with a few bruises and a damaged ego. Brafez spun around, holding up the captive weapon in the direction of a noise he had heard. The sound of clapping filled the air, Mangeele stepping out of the shadows.

"Glad to see you're still lethal. Come, have a seat." The doctor gestured to the seat in front of his desk. Brafez dropped the battery from the gun, putting it in his waistband.

"I'm assuming that I passed the test?"

"You are correct. Now, about that offer..."

"What is it." Brafez spoke aloud, not having time for the doctor's games.

"I can see you're in no mood for games, so I'll get straight to the point. How would you like to not have to fight ever again?" The young Exterminator gave him a deadpan stare, before raising an eyebrow and realizing that the mad doctor might not be joking.

"Never again?" Mangeele smirked: the boy had played right into his hands.

"Never again."

"Interesting. What's the catch?"

"No catch." Brafez tilted his head to the side, his eyes glazing over.

"Oh, I see. Cloning. Makes sense. It appears you have no ulterior motives. That or you're hiding something extremely well." He rightened his head, blinking and standing up. "I believe we have ourselves a deal. Though, I'm going to need a favor."

* * *

 _"I'm going to be a bit late."_

 _"Be careful."_

 _"I will."_

Brafez pocketed his scroll, watching the sun set. Night was rapidly approaching, and soon he would be able to set his plan in motion: Find whatever made that noise from before and put it out of its misery. Once the last few rays of light dropped off the horizon, Brafez walked over to the Farm's checkpoint, holding out his keycard. The guard took it and nodded, handing it back to the boy and opening the gate, letting him pass.

Brafez put his hands in his pockets, crossing the grass yard until he reached a metal barn. No, really, an actual metal barn. The entire structure was made out of metal, and quite sturdy. He walked up to the doors and melted the locks off, slipping inside and out of sight. Once he was in, he closed the door, turning around.

"Oh..."

* * *

 ** _END OF CHAPTER TEN_**

 ** _A.N. So, yes, I have indeed been delaying the updates. Why? Because I like to have at least four chapters ready to put out before I start on a new set. Then I ran dead-on into writer's block and ever since it's been fucking me in the ass with its big, veiny cock, and I HATE IT. I even tried to put down a series of events in my phone to help me out! Look! *shows phone* Somehow I managed to put WB into a choke-hold for a few days and managed to bring in a few hundred words, so, yeah. That's been my entire past four weeks._**


	12. Happiness

_**START OF CHAPTER ELEVEN**_

* * *

 _ **Inverness, the Farm, Chamber A-12...**_

"Oh..." Brafez coughed, staring eye to eye with a Bellua Beowulf. Or, if a Bellua Beowulf had a child with a tank. The Grimm was covered head to toe in bone-plating, white spines bristled in curiosity. Several three-inch holes had been bored into its armor, with the space around the holes muddled by black liquid. Tubes hung from the ceiling, their couplings coated in the same liquid on the Grimm, feeding into a large glass tube filled with black ichor. Chains were attached to it's ankles and wrists, which were then fed into holes in the metal floor.

The Grimm raised its head and howled, confirming his suspicions that this was the Grimm that had been howling.

He wasn't just content with putting it out of its misery, no. He had to know the whole story. Brafez gently inched around the Grimm, reaching the other side of the barn and looking around, his eyes resting on three small cages. The sound of claws moving made him spin around, taking out Fenrir. The Grimm was inches away from his face, whimpering like a sick dog. He lowered his axe, turning back to the cages. There was a tarp covering them, obscuring their contents.

The Beowulf growled, making him flinch. He inched forward, taking the tarp in hand and pulling it. The rough material fell apart in his hands, but whatever was under it was too dark to make out. Brafez looked around, spotting a light switch. He walked over to the wall and pulled the switch, blinking as the harsh lights turned on. The Beowulf whimpered again, this time with a hint of rage. Brafez returned to the cages, and he fought to choke back a gag. Inside the cages were dead Beowulf pups, each with holes bored into their chests and necks, black ichor coating their pelts.

"I... _Monty..._ " He turned back to the Grimm with sorrow in his heart, understanding why it had howled. The Beowulf looked different now, with fur instead of armor covering its hide. Brafez looked into its blood-red eyes, seeing a glimmer of life still left in the ancient beast. He looked at a control panel against the back wall, with a terminal next to it. Brafez walked over to the terminal, hacking into the machine and reading the reports.

 _/R25: SUBJECT FELICITY CAPTURED AS OF JANUARY 27, XXVII. TESTING CONFIRMS SUSPICION OF PREGNANCY. AS OF JUNE 23, MMDCCLXI, FELICITY HAS GIVEN BIRTH TO THREE PUPS. RECOMMEND REMOVAL OF PUPS FROM MOTHER TO STUDY PSYCHOLOGICAL REACTION._

 _/Mangeele: Begin draining the Grimm of Dark. Start with the pups, then move onto the adult. Study reactions to the pups' deaths. Report back once the process has been completed._

 _/R46: PUPS DRAINED OF DARK, BEGINNING TO MOVE ON TO THE ADULT. AT THE TIME OF DEMISE, THE ADULT WENT INTO A BESERKER STATE, KILLING TWO STAFF AND ADORNING HEAVY BONE PLATING. ALL ATTEMPTS TO BORE THROUGH THE BONE HAVE FAILED. REQUESTING DALARIUM DRILLS TO PROPERLY GAUGE THE BONE'S STRENGTH._

 _/Mangeele: The drills will arrive in three days. Determine the bone's hardness and then begin the draining._

 _/R50: DALARIUM DRILLS HAVE FAILED. THE DRILL BIT BROKE AN INCH INTO THE BONE, REQUESTING UNOBTAINIUM DRILLS._

 _/Mangeele: Please do not refer to Graphene as "Unobtainium", it's unbecoming of oneself. The drills will arrive within the week, keep me posted._

 _/R65: SUCCESSFULLY BORED THROUGH BONE PLATING. EXAMINATIONS REVEAL THE BONE PLATING TO BE THREE INCHES THICK AND TWO TIMES AS STRONG AS DIAMOND. RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE EXTERMINATION OF SUBJECT FELICITY._

 _/Mangeele: Negative on extermination. Keep studying the Grimm, and try using electric shocks. If anything happens, report back._

 _/R66: ELECTRIC SHOCKS SUCCESSFUL. SUBJECT'S BONE PLATING RECEEDED INTO THE SKIN, AT WHICH POINT DRAINING WAS STARTED. DIFFERENCES IN PERSONALITY WERE RECORDED WHEN THE BONE PLATING REGREW, WITH THE ADULT BECOMING MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN WHEN BONE PLATING RECEEDED. FURTHER TESTING REQUIRED, WILL UPDATE AS PROJECT ADVANCES._

 _/Bill: Jimmy, if I'dda known that Grimm pussy was this good, I would have gone native looking ago. You HAVE to try it!_

 _/Jimmy: Hey dickweed, you're here to drain Grimm of Dark, not fuck them. Get your shit together, because next time I'm not covering your ass._

Brafez pulled away from the screen, looking back at the Grimm. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that the cameras within the barn had been deactivated, but for what reason, he had no clue.

"So, your name's Felicity. Well, I'm Brafez. Nice to meet you." He muttered, as if thinking the Grimm would understand him. But, to his surprise, she nodded her head and walked over to him. "I...Yes. Hello? Mind telling me what you're doing?"

Felicity nudged his hand with her forehead, with Brafez reluctantly scratching her head. She growled happily (well, as happy as she could be, given the circumstances) making him smile at her antics. The Grimm heard footsteps outside the door with her advanced hearing and shoved her head into his stomach, throwing him across the room and into the shadows. The doors parted seconds later, a North Vytalian drawl enteren' the room. (Fun Fact: Northern Vytal in my story is Texas. Cause why not.)

"Oh Felicity! _Daddy's home._ " Bill exclaimed, drunk beyond belief. The Grimm huffed annoyingly, and raised her rear into the air. Bill stumbled back, raising his eyebrows. The Grimm had never been this compliant.

What followed next Brafez had trouble understanding. First he heard a particularly loud squelch, then short breaths, and by that time he had stopped listening and was looking for a way to stop it. A bucket rested in front of his feet, and Brafez looked at Felicity. She nodded her head discreetly and he kicked the bucket, bouncing it off the wall and into Bill's head, knocking him out. Brafez got to his feet and ran over to the unconscious man, grabbing him under his armpits and dragging him across the room, resting him against the wall. He found an empty bottle of beer in the corner and stuffed it into Bill's shirt pocket, just to make a convincing argument as to why he should be fired.

Brafez turned to Felicity, who gave him a suggestive shake of her rear. But, because he was only eight years old, he didn't take the hint. Thankfully, because I wasn't narrating that shit. He tilted his head and shrugged, walking to the front of the Grimm and petting her nose. A portal appeared next to him, Welsha stepping out of it.

"Hey Bru. I see you've met Felicity?" She inquired, scratching the Grimm behind her ears.

"Indeed. I'm guessing you've met before?"

"Yeah, around October. Saw her being brought in and after a few follow-up missions we became two peas in a pod. So, why are you in here?"

"I want to get her out."

"Oh, and _how_ are you going to do this?"

"I-Well, I'll... I'll think of something."

"Uh-Huh. Tell me about it when you think of one. If you're done here, we should be heading home. It's getting close to bed-time."

"How long have I been here?" Brafez muttered, looking at his watch. "Huh...12:47? That doesn't make much sense."

"You're right, it doesn't make sense. You lose track of time around Felicity." Welsha explained, opening another portal. "What feels like minutes are hours. She's good for therapy...in case you still need some."

"I...thanks. I'll look into it. What should I do about the unconscious man against the wall?"

"Oh. Didn't see him there." Welsha quipped, looking at Bill, cringing at the sight. "I see you've set up the scene quite convincingly. I've taught you well."

"Thank you. The proper authorities will come in the morning, see him passed out, and hopefully fire him. When that happens, I'll file for his position and work it out from there."

"You forgot something." She pointed out, leaning against the wall.

He thought about it, and then thought some more. And some more. He couldn't think of anything.

"I'm stumped. What I miss?" Welsha smiled and ruffled his neatly combed hair, Brafez shaking her hand off and huffing.

"Nothing." She quipped, waving goodbye and hopping through the portal. Brafez looked at Felicity and patted her head, following behind his adopted sister. The portal closed soon after, and Felicity turned her attention to Bill. The night would be long before the dawn. She had plenty of time.

* * *

 ** _END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN_**


	13. Repercussions

**_START OF CHAPTER 12_**

* * *

 ** _The next morning..._**

Brafez pulled out his earbuds, listening to the PA system ping. He looked around his room within their apartment, the starch blue walls contrasting with the orange carpet and ceiling. After a few minutes, the PA system started broadcasting.

 _"Attention Brothers and Sisters of the Sect; this morning, an infidel was found in the Farm. Billy Graham was found fornicating with the creatures of Grimm, an offense that shall not stand within these walls. As such, Billy Graham is to be sentenced to walk the ice fields of glacier Pontomack until death. In addition, the role of caretaker is now open for anyone who wishes to take Billy's place. Do please remember, fornication is only allowed with faunus, humans, and animals, not Grimm. Thank you, have a nice day."_

His blood ran cold, a horror gripping him. He hadn't thought that Billy would be killed. Brafez felt a pang of injustice and brushed it off, taking out his scroll. He clicked through a few screens and selected the 'open jobs' tab, clicking on caretaker for the Farm. A notification appeared on his screen, denoting that he had applied for the job. Surprisingly, no one else had. Shocker, am I right? Within a few hours he would be notified if he had gotten the job. That was a benefit to living with the Sect; they got shit done. You need a local Grimm exterminated? They'll be back in a few minutes. You apply for a job? They'll tell you about it within the hour. You need a warm, home-cooked meal? Fuck you, do that yourself. They're Grimm killers and civilian protectors, not babysitters.

He messaged Welsha about his application and leaned back, putting in his earbuds and falling asleep. He would need the rest for that night.

* * *

 ** _That night..._**

Brafez followed after the head caretaker, Jeeves, with quiet dread. He was not expecting the night to be happy. And if it was, it would completely and entirely surprise him. The moment that the barn door opened, he heard the rattle of chains and the soft thud of pads against the floor. Felicity growled at Jeeves, who pressed a button on his wrist, activating the shock grid grafted to her skin. The resulting electrocution made his blood boil, but he said and did nothing. It would jeopardise too much for him to just stop one act.

"Now that the subject is properly subdued, follow me." Jeeves said, walking around the Grimm and over to the side room, walking inside and standing next to a console. Brafez gave Felicity a heartfelt look, following behind the aging Exterminator.

"This here is the drainage valve." The head caretaker said, gesturing to a tube running across the ceiling. "That'll extract the Dark and bring it to our storage container in the back. You push this button and the draining starts. Be very careful about handling the equipment. A single molecule of Dark gets down your throat, you're a dead man. If you have enough time to react, I suppose you could down a gallon and survive, but...You come back different. Like Grimm."

"How do you know?" Brafez inquired, discouraged by the old man's story. Jeeves breathed deeply, digging his soles into the ground and shaking his head. He had a feeling he didn't want to hear the rest. "I'm sorry for asking."

"Nevermind that, this controls the chains on the Grimm's legs. Now I know that you're a sympathetic fool, so if you feel like giving the bitch a little leg room put the lever halfway to the top. All the way releases the chains for when we need to transport the subject to a new facility. You understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. There's your set-up. The storage container will be emptied in the morning, so get comfy. I'll see you then." And with that, Jeeves left. Brafez waited until the door was firmly shut and the footsteps retreated before walking over to the cameras and turning them off, frowning when they didn't deactivate. Instead of taking the short route and shocking them, he instead opted to replace the current footage with footage from several months ago, when Billy hadn't been busy sexxing up Felicity and actually cared about his job. Of course, it showed no one next to Felicity with the sound of the drainage pump going at full blast.

"Now that that's done," he muttered, walking over to the console and pushing the lever up three inches from the top. He was glad he did, or else the systems would acknowledge that he hadn't put in the release code and fry Felicity to a literal crisp. When he looked out the viewport, Felicity was waiting for him a few steps away from the sub-room. "Hey girl. Sorry about earlier, but I couldn't risk it."

She nodded her head and shrugged her shoulders inwards, telling him to come see her. After checking the camera feed Brafez walked over to Felicity and patted her head, feeling the coarse hair tingle his senses. She was soft, from what he could tell, but since he couldn't really feel anything his opinion was moot. Still, he could sense a hidden intelligence behind her cherry red eyes. He thought about what Welsha had said, about how she was good for therapy, and decided to give it a shot.

"Hi...um, can you understand me?" He inquired, feeling quite silly until she clearly nodded her head. The sound of his jaw hitting the metal floor reverberated around the barn. He knew Grimm could talk, but that they could consciously understand what he was saying? This was...fascinating. After a brief silence he spoke up, sitting down next to her massive paws. "I-I'm not really sure how to start off...I mean, I'm not really normal. I mean, who cries over dead Grimm? Most certainly not anyone that I know. Not anyone but me... I know that you don't have souls, but I can't help but feel that you just want to survive. I can't help but feel sorry for you guys."

Felicity huffed angrily, turning his personal space into a temporary sauna. "Sorry, guess I hit a sore point?"

She shook her head, getting up and walking behind him. He was starting to get suspicious when suddenly she picked him up by the scruff of his neck, careful not to pierce his skin, and threw him onto her side, lying down. She rolled onto her side, making herself into a makeshift bed. She huffed once more, which he took as to continue his rambling.

"I-um...thanks." He stuttered, taken aback by her actions. "S-Sometimes I just get so _angry_ at my misfortune, you know? My parents are dead, all I've got are a few friends and an adopted sister, I mean not that I don't love them all, because I do, but life just seems to have an agenda against me."

Brafez sighed, running a hand through her fur. Felicity rumbled with pleasure, and huffed her enjoyment.

"I wonder what goes on inside that head of yours..." He muttered. Curious, he wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled himself up her body until he was eye-level with the Grimm. Grabbing both sides of her head, he activated his Semblance and...nothing. Nothing happened. He frowned and tried again. Still, nothing happened. She grinned and licked his face, making him roll off in surprise.

"Charming." He quipped, getting up and rubbing her stomach. He chuckled at the sight of such a powerful beast wagging her tail like a dog. His scroll went off in his pocket, and by the special tone of the alarm, his shift had ended. Brafez checked the time, astounded to find out that it was twelve at night. "How...? I...give up. Whatever."

He put aside the weird time-distortion and got up, retracting the chains with a heartfelt "Sorry". With the night over, he turned out the lights and left, the sorrow in his heart grafted over by joy.

* * *

 ** _Seven weeks later..._**

Brafez had just been getting ready to start his shift when his scroll rang, with a dull, mocking tone. He took it out and read the message; "Report to Area-3, Section 5, effective immediately."

He knew that Area-3 was the Farm, but Section 5? He'd never heard of such a place in Inverness. Putting it off to the corner of his mind he set out, walking through the gate and into the compound. His scroll flashed suddenly, and a building appeared in place of an empty lot.

"Huh. Don't remember that being there before." Almost immediately two armed Exterminators approached him.

"Exterminator Rasputin, come right this way." The first Exterminator ordered, walking back towards the compound with Brafez trailing after him. He kept his wits about him, since he was in Mangeele's territory. If he didn't...Well, he could be tricked into doing something even more horrendous. After following the guard for about thirty minutes, going through several security checkpoints, and all the while meticulously taking down every twist, turn, and detail in his head so that way he knew how to get back to wherever he was going.

Finally they showed up at a door marked "Rasputin, B." The guard opened the door and stood off to the side, letting him pass. Mangeele was waiting for him inside, two lead scientists behind him.

"Gentlemen, now that everyone is here, we may begin. Ariana?"

The female scientist to his left nodded, smiling as she pushed some buttons on her scroll. The wall beside him slid apart, revealing six tubes veiled in shadow.

"Thank you Doctor. For the past seven weeks we've been working on replicating the genetic structure of the Exterminator who has joined us here today. Well, we had a breakthrough. Lights please."

A set of lights behind the tubes flickered to life, revealing their contents. Inside were humanoids covered in black chitinous armor, resembling knights of the early days of mankind.

"These are experimental biological weapons platforms, each one outfitted with Dark-based shielding and adaptive weapon options. Each platform can lift over twenty tons, move at hypersonic speeds, and take one hell of a punishment. Quite literally, they cannot die. They do this by manipulating Dark, an extremely acidic version of antimatter-turned-lifeblood that all Grimm produce naturally. I can say without a doubt that these clones are the most advanced bio-technology we have at this moment in time."

Brafez looked at the still forms, running his eyes over their sharp curves and rugged exteriors. They looked ready for combat, and if what the scientist was saying turned out to be true, they would be extremely efficient killers, but...

"They are impressive, but it needs a more...human aspect." Brafez stated, to which Mangeele nodded, confusing him.

"Of course. We can't have faceless saviors, now can we? Ramirez, press release control 8-5-2." The other scientist shook his head, taking his own scroll and pressing a button. The helmets of the clones opened like blooming flowers, revealing Brafez's face under the faceplate. A few noticeable differences were seen, such as the fact that the eyes were neon blood red, instead of orange. In addition, their hair was black as well. "Any other questions?"

"A few. They look...older, than me, that is. Any particular reason?"

"We had to age them drastically if they were to survive the augmentation. If only we knew that the first time around..."

"There were _others_? What did you do with them?" Brafez inquired, narrowing his eyes.

"We disposed of them, as per procedure. Why do you ask?"

"How?"

"Hmm?"

"How did you "dispose" of them?"

"Oh, surely you wouldn't-"

"I'll pry the answer from your mind if you won't speak it aloud." He muttered, tilting his head and viewing Ariana's memories. After a few seconds he shook his head and stopped looking, gesturing to Mangeele. "Thank you Doctor, Ariana, Ramirez. Apologies, but I must be taking my leave." And with that he turned and left, heading home. Mangeele smirked, waiting for a minute before speaking.

"He knows."

* * *

 ** _Rasputin apartment..._**

Brafez grabbed the rim of the toilet bowl, violently vomiting. He shook profusely, trying to rid his mind of what he had seen.

 _A pile of bodies, horribly disfigured and broken. They were screaming in agony, begging for death. A flame flickered to life, and then they all burned, screaming blood and death like banshees._

The stench of blood and burnt flesh clogged his throat, making him vomit again. He felt like his organs were trying to escape out his throat. He knew what he had to do, how to fix this mess of his.

 _Burn it._

 _Burn it and leave._

* * *

 ** _END OF CHAPTER 12_**


	14. Escape

_**START OF CHAPTER 13**_

* * *

 _ **After many a night and day...**_

The decision had not been easy. He would be giving up everything; his friends, his family, and eventually, his life. He knew that the Sect wouldn't stop hunting him. Cloning was an offense punishable by death in the eyes of the Atlas Council. If the truth got out, Mangeele, Ariana, Ramirez, and dozens of other head staff would be killed. As much as he hated what they had done to him, he wasn't about to help get them killed.

Brafez knew what he had to do. He didn't like it, but it had to be done.

He had to leave.

* * *

He made plans, gathered materials. He was ready, but neither in his heart nor his mind. Brafez knew that leaving would destroy him, that he would never be able to forgive himself.

Finally, on the night of October 21st, XXVII, he put his plans into motion.

* * *

He had woken up early. Welsha had been giving him weird looks the night before, yet now she was calm and complacent. Before he set off, she gave him the biggest hug that she had ever given him, and slipped a pocket knife into his back pocket. That was when he knew. She'd found him out. But what hurt the most was that she was letting him go.

The walk to the Farm dragged on like two sheets of sandpaper rubbing together, except if his heart was placed between the two sheets. He was glad Katie hadn't shown up, yet ultimately heart-broken that he was leaving her. His last trip through the gate felt like the end of a life. Instead of heading straight to the barn where Felicity was being held, he walked towards the cloning facility and into the shadows. He was grateful for his sisters' teachings on stealth and subterfuge. He took out the tranq-gun and fired a suppressive bolt of dust into the back of the front-most guard's neck, catching the ejected shell. Brafez fired again, then gathered the unconscious guards and slid them behind an ally-way. With the security out of the way, he took out a detonator and thumbed the button.

All across the base lights flickered and died, and a long low whine of electricity followed suite. Brafez hurried inside, past the lobby and sprinting down hallways. Whatever guards he met were easily dispatched, and not long after he was outside his room. _Their_ room. He kicked down the door and threw fire at the tubes, cremating the contents of the select five. As the clones' ashes drifted away, Brafez rushed over to the sixth pod and inputted the code, opening the tube. The sixth clone fell into his awaiting arms, and before I could complete this sentence he was out of the cloning facility and inside the barn.

"Felicity, cloak him!" Brafez ordered, throwing his clone onto the Beowulf's back and rushing into the sub-room, pushing the release lever all the way up. Felicity stepped out from her shackles, the recent infusion of Dark giving her the strength to use her abilities. She faded into an ink-black mist, the clone fading with her. With very little time left on the clock, Brafez took a vial off the console and filled it with Dark from the container, smashing the glass with his axe and turning the vicious black liquid into vapor, then burning that vapor for good measure. His job done, he hopped aboard Felicity as she phased through the door and took off across the grassy field towards freedom, shrouded in Darkness and shadows.

They stopped ten feet short from escape, Brafez's eyes locked on the girl before him. It was Katie. He gulped and got off the Grimm, cutting through the fence and shouting for them to go as he turned to face his regret.

"You're leaving?" Katie asked quietly, yet to him she was louder than a banshee's wail.

He couldn't speak, couldn't answer her fatal question.

"I...I have to go. It's not safe for-" He couldn't continue. He saw how much it was hurting her, just the idea that he hadn't told her. He was her best friend, so why hadn't he told her? Brafez knew why. It was because she would want to come with him. He couldn't let that happen; he already hated himself as-is.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He froze up again. He struggled to breath, to even say her name.

"K-Kat-"

"Don't you trust me?" He could see tears in her eyes, each full of betrayal.

Felicity barked in the distance. He had to leave.

He didn't think, didn't realize the consequences. He kissed her on the lips and broke apart. He hadn't realized she'd broke as well. "I'm so sorry."

Brafez pulled away and ran, tears running down his pale complexion. Katie felt her heart go numb. The voices she despised started up again, telling her that it was her fault, that he was leaving because of her. She replayed the moment over and over in her head, wondering why he'd lied, wondering why he was yelling at her, why he hated her. A small part of her, one that could see past the illusions, wondered if he knew how much she cared about him. Then she realized that it was a goodbye kiss.

A goodbye that lasted forever.

She tried one last time, reaching for him. "B-Brafez..."

He was already gone.

Brafez didn't dare look back as he hopped onto Felicity's back, the Beowulf already in motion as emergency power came on throughout the base. Just as they passed the end line of the antimatter barrier, it flickered to life, nearly atomizing the three escapees.

About six miles out Brafez felt a sharp sting next to his ear, and blood ran down his wrist as he cupped it. He couldn't believe it. They'd _shot_ him. He looked back at the shrinking Inverness, and ducked his head as he saw the glint of a scope. The clone decided to sit up at that exact moment, the round punching through its head like a speeding train and spraying Brafez with gore.

He immediately wiped his mouth of Dark and kept his body tight against Felicity's back, urging her to go faster, to get away from both the horror behind him and the place he had once called home. In his desperate actions, he didn't notice that the clone had stood up, hole gone, and pointed it's arm at Inverness, the hand transforming into a long-barreled weapon. The clone fired once, and sat back down, cradling his side. Brafez didn't hear the sniper fire again.

After a few minutes, Brafez looked back and saw Inverness shrinking into a small black dot. Then his vision started shaking. He looked around and paled (a considerable feat, mind you), realizing that they had entered the Dead Zone. The Dead Zone was where the K-Class Grimm rested, and while he would be able to kill one in three minutes, he didn't have the time. So, when the ground started shaking, he was put into a predicament. They could keep going while fighting off the Grimm, and possibly risk injury, or they could high-tail it outta there like a bat outta hell. The clone decided for him, knocking a K-Class out with an energy blast.

Brafez swore and threw fire at another as it burst out of the ground, halting it for a moment as Felicity hauled ass across the Dead Zone. All around them the ground erupted, twenty Grimm and counting giving chase. He was confused; there shouldn't be this many. He looked around and saw that his clone was still bleeding, Dark trailing between it's fingers. Brafez ignited his palm and held it toward the clone, it's eyes widening with fear and rage as his hand came close.

"No!" It shouted, shoving him away. He fell off Felicity, feeling his leg snap under him. Due to the speeds that they had been going, Felicity was already out of reach by the time she noticed his absence. She spun around, looking for him. When she saw him, she sprinted over, the ground in front of her erupting. He felt his breath catch in his throat, sure that they were dead. Brafez watched with a glimmer of hope as she ran around the Grimm, then he felt the ground beneath him shake and give way. He tried to crawl away, but the ground broke and he-

* * *

The ground beneath him was soft, and felt more like grass than snow. Brafez opened his eyes, looking around. He was in the middle of a forest, trees all around him. A babbling stream caught his attention, since his mouth was dry as a desert. He tried to get up before realizing his leg was in a splint, and grabbed a nearby tree, hauling himself up. With that done, he hobbled over to the stream and filled his cupped hands with water, drinking deeply.

A branch snapped off to his left, and he tried his best to spin around. His clone stood at the end of the clearing, a buck hauled over it's shoulder. He nodded his head and rested against a tree, breathing heavily.

"I don't blame you for throwing me off. I can understand why you did it. I killed your brothers, your family. You probably heard their screams too. 'I'm sorry' won't cut it. This ain't me stealing a cookie outta the jar; this was murder. You have a problem, you take it up with me. The next time you endanger Felicity, I'm tearing your head off."

"I understand." He replied, molding his hands into carving knives as he started skinning the deer.

"Okay," With that out of the way, he could get down to business. "How long?" Brafez inquired, checking his leg.

"Four days." He tersely answered, working on gutting his catch.

"You know where Felicity went?"

"Went hunting with her. She told me to come back and check on you."

He paused, tearing off the deer's head by the antlers.

"Wait...Felicity can talk?"

* * *

 ** _Inverness..._**

Welsha stepped inside the Doctor's office, sitting down in the leather armchair. The two guards behind her fell to the floor, shockpads placed near their cerebral cortex. Mangeele wheeled himself around, a smirk on his face.

"Nice to see you're still lethal."

* * *

 _ **END OF CHAPTER 13**_


	15. On The Run

_**START OF CHAPTER 14**_

* * *

 _ **2 years later...**_

Brafez had adjusted well to the wild. Felicity was a natural hunter, and as she or his clone never needed to eat, he had plenty of food. Whenever he looked for a good place to stay for a few weeks, he made sure water was easily accessible. But food nor water could not quell his need to return home, to his friends and family. He missed them terribly, so much so that he often had dreams about returning home and ended up sleepwalking in the direction of Inverness.

His newest location was located deep within the southern part of the Dragon continent, among the forests of Pajuri. The region was dense enough to scatter his signal, and the Grimm were few and far between. He was practically in paradise. And as the streams of sunlight filtered through the canopy of his paradise, bringing with it a new day, Brafez opened his eyes.

He sat up, rubbing his leg. It had taken a good few months to properly heal it, and he wasn't too eager to have to go through that again. Sure, Aura would have healed it faster, but it would've been incorrectly set, and caused only more problems down the line. The shock that Felicity could speak had worn off after a few weeks, and when he tried to get her to speak she wouldn't. He almost didn't believe it before he heard his clone talking to Felicity, and continuing the conversation like she had actually responded.

Brafez was...adamant against referring to his clone as a "he", as terrible as it sounded. He just couldn't see "it" as a separate being from himself. This issue had obviously caused a rift between the two, and after one year in the wilderness, his clone left to return to Inverness. Now, all that he had left was himself and Felicity.

He didn't really mind it that much. Though, over the past few months Felicity had grown... _testy_ _._ She would snap at him from time to time, and her growling never ended. Once he had woken up with her head nuzzling his lap, and it had given him a funny feeling. But besides that incident, nothing else had happened.

A few weeks of boredom had dulled his senses, enough to the point that Brafez almost didn't hear a foot breaking a branch about twenty meters away. He turned around, Fenrir held at the ready. When another branch snapped he rolled out of sight, just in time for a Bellua Ursai to trample by. Felicity had already disappeared, probably cloaked. Brafez crept around the underbrush until he got a good-enough view, watching several other Bellua Grimm gather in a circle, a Daligrime at their midst. Though, it looked...odd.

The humanoid Grimm's arms were far too long, and it was far too tall. He wondered if it was a Grandiose... A spark of light amongst the Grimm caught his eye, eventually resolving into a...portal. He grit his teeth, staying low to the ground as he got up. Brafez shook his head; how'd she find him? Why now? And how did the Grimm know where she was going to arrive?

Whatever questions in his mind vanished as Welsha stepped out of the portal, only to be thrown away as a Bellua Ursa rammed into her. He was already decapitating his third Bellua when he heard her cry out in pain. The Ursa that had knocked her down was preparing to strike, claw raised in the air. Right before he reached them, the Daligrime stepped in front of him, swinging its massive arms like clubs. The wolf-spirit inside his axe howled, hacking through the twisted abomination with devotion, giving him just enough time to watch the claw sink into her back, silencing her scream.

He blinked.

She was gone.

 _No. NO. NO!_

He begged to differ. An ancient knowledge imprinted itself into his mind, and he knew what would have to happen next.

His world collapsed as he spoke an ancient word, a name.

 _Azeroyth, grant me your power._

Time stopped. A mist curled around his body, casting the world in twilight except for what lay before him. He held up a hand and _pushed_.

He could feel himself stretching the fabric of reality, curling back time second by second. He felt it tearing away at his soul; he knew he didn't have the strength to save her. He would be lost to the dark corners of time, drifting endlessly through the void- Brafez felt hands join his own, pushing against the barrier. He looked around, and saw innumerable versions of himself struggling with him, to save the one thing that mattered most. Together they pushed, dragging the lethal claw out inch by inch, desperate to see that she lived. One by one the army of Brafezes shrank, their souls devoured by the abyss, until only he remained. Brafez tore back into reality, swinging Fenrir into the nearest Grimm's skull as the light appeared next to him.

Before they could react, or even think about reacting, the she-wolf's teeth had drank her fill of their blood and rended their hearts asunder. He turned around, watching Welsha step out of the portal, hunched over slightly. Brafez couldn't breath. For a long moment they stood apart, not daring to bridge the gap between them. He looked her over; her hair had grown brighter and longer, and she was filling in well. It was their first reunion in years, and neither dared speak a word, too afraid that they would wake up from a dream.

"Brafez," she started, stopping abruptly as she clutched her back. He either didn't notice or didn't care, simply opting to barrel into her and hug her to death.

"Sis," he strained, his voice cracking as tears welled in his eyes. "I missed you so much."

She didn't respond, just hugging him back with all her fleeting strength. Brafez felt his hands getting sticky and pulled away, eyes wide with concern as blood slicked his palms. "Welsha, what is this?"

"I... Ursa caught me as I teleported. I just...needed to see you." She whispered, shivering. He shook his head and whistled, Felicity coming over. He held out his hand, the Grimm spitting into his palm. Brafez held it up to her mouth, and she cautiously accepted it, her wound healing.

"Better?" He asked, acting as support. She nodded, hissing as he slapped her face. "Good. You know I'd never hit you, but the next time you pull something as stupid as this, I'm going to mean it. Understand?"

"Y-Yes. C-Can I lay down?" Welsha inquired, smiling meekly. Brafez nodded, leading her over to his make-shift hut and helping her into the hammock he had called his bed for the past week. "Thank you."

"Anything for my sister." He replied, feeling for a second that things were back to normal, that they were just a family. "They sent you after me, didn't they?"

"Yeah."

"They want me dead; we both know that." He shook his head, squeezing her hand. "How's home been since I left?"

"People were afraid, so they left. They didn't feel safe without you around. Brazeazel just didn't show up one day. I don't-"

"What about Katie?" Brafez inquired, watching as her face sunk.

She pursed her lips, frowning as she took a deep breath.

"Katie...she went missing a week ago. I guess she had a breakdown and...the trail went cold near the Dead Zone."

He didn't speak, absorbing the information slowly.

"Sis...What do you mean she had a breakdown?" Brafez asked, confused.

"She never told you?" Welsha inquired in return, surprise in her features.

"Told me _what_?"

"Brafez, Katie had schizophrenia." The information hit him like a brick wall.

"W-What-? No. She would have told me."

"I wouldn't lie to you." She replied, trying to calm him but only serving to further his confusion.

"Why didn't she tell me?"

"I guess the same reason you didn't tell me you had congenital analgesia when we first met; you didn't want to be treated differently." She grimaced, getting out of the hammock and hugging him. "My tracker's been reactivated. They'll be coming for me soon. I love you Bru."

He gripped her back, crying into her shoulder. "I'm so tired Welsh. I don't want to run anymore. I want to go home, with you and Katie!"

"I know. I'm so sorry. I love you. Don't ever expect that to change. Bru?"

"Y-yes?"

"Eat something." Welsha pulled away, eyes teary and brimming. She summoned a portal and left, Brafez wiping his eyes clear as he set about to gathering his things.

* * *

 ** _One week before..._**

Katie looked at the men on pedestals all around her, body shaking.

"Katherine Gatsu, you have been called here for your failure to stop the traitor Brafez Rasputin from leaving Inverness with experimental tech. As such, you have been labeled a traitor, and shall be expelled. You can gather your stuff, you're leaving in the morning." The man on the tallest pedestal stated, concluding the meeting. Katie ran from the room, crying.

 _It's not fair!_ She thought, heading outside. The poor girl dropped to her knees, not noticing the building fading away behind her. The other voices spoke up, for once gaining a foothold in her mind.

 **They think that we're useless-**

 **Too fragile-**

 **We'll show them.**

 _W-What should I do?_

 **Simple. Find Grimm. Kill them. Drag their corpses back and throw it in their face!**

 _I can't. I'm too weak._

 **Then make yourself strong.**

For once in her life, the voices made sense. That would show them, wouldn't it? That she was strong? That she wasn't _useless_?

She stared at the armory at the end of the compound, her hands balling. Katie stood up and started walking, reaching the heavy door and sighing. A small red dot showed on the door, and she poked it sternly, the door collapsing under its own weight. A massive sword hung in the middle of the room, supported by chains. Inscribed into the dull metal was the word "Kargonslayer." It's blade glowed faintly white, outlining the dust particles that floated in the air around it.

She could feel it beckoning for her to take it, to use it against the forces of Dark. But how? It was twice her height, and weighed over a hundred pounds! But fear not, for this is the RWBY-verse, where the laws of physics gets bitch-slapped fifty ways to next year on a daily basis! So, Katie grabbed the sword by it's hilt and rested it on her shoulder, taking deep breaths and heaving it 180 degrees in front of her to get a feel for the blade.

"I can work with this. Just need to get the physics down." She muttered, looking around before her eyes rested on a simple long-sleeved turtleneck with the front of the neck cut open. She frowned and threw the blade at the shirt, only for it to bounce off and land on the floor. "Wowzers...How does that work again?"

Don't think too much about it.

 **The alarm went off-**

 **We need to leave-**

 **And show them all what we are capable of.**

 _Okay._

Katie donned the shirt and heaved the sword over her shoulder, sprinting off into the night.

* * *

 ** _Resuming from before, about two days after..._**

Brafez eased past a broken tree, Felicity trailing behind him with his shelter on her back. He looked ahead; the clearing a few dozen-feet in front of them looked like a good place to set up for the night. Brafez hacked down a couple of trees and finally stepped into the clearing, holding Fenrir at his side.

He spun around, sparks flying as he parried a blade disturbingly similar to his own. Brafez took a step forward and shoved the blade away, throwing his assailant across the clearing. Brafez took a deep breath, watching as the attacker stood up, the too-similar hood falling down to reveal... _his own face._

* * *

 _ **END OF CHAPTER 14**_


	16. Me, Myself, and I

**_A.n. Sorry about last night, published the wrong chapter._**

 ** _START OF CHAPTER 15_**

* * *

 ** _Seconds later..._**

He couldn't believe it. They'd somehow managed to clone him again. Seventeen more clones appeared behind the first clone to attack, colored red and blue. The first one, colored sky blue, took a replica Fenrir out from behind his back, joined by a crimson red one. He instinctively named them Sky and Crimson, so he would be able to keep track.

Sky didn't talk, just vanished. He doubted that they _could_ , but that thought was shoved to the back of his mind as he felt rather than saw the clone reappear behind him. He dropped to the ground, spinning around on the forest floor as he drew Fenrir up in an uppercut, drawing blood. Sky back-dashed away, Crimson rushing into battle with gusto. That is, of course, before Felicity slammed into his side. He didn't seem to notice the impact that should have broken most of his bones, instead rolling with it before standing up and pointing his gauntlet at Brafez.

He dropped to the ground again, realizing too late that Crimson had shot a chain at _Sky_ , not him. He quickly threw Fenrir's handle across his back, blocking the swing Sky threw at his back as he flew overhead. For a second, as the blade struck, Brafez saw it bounce away, almost like... No, it _did_ bounce off! Like his axe had an Aura. Suddenly Fenrir jerked in his hands, driving the blade up into the clone's aorta. Blood gushed from Sky's chest, drifting lazily as he flew back.

Brafez watched the body hit the (floor) dirt, shakily holding his axe. It felt tainted in his hands, used for work he had never wanted to do. He didn't have time to contemplate what he had done, just barely able to take a blow from Crimson as he charged him. Brafez rolled away to the side as the copy-Fenrir dug into the space where his head had been moments before, a few strands of hair falling from the close shave. He got back to his feet within seconds, blocking the next attack with Fenrir's shaft before ducking around Crimson and bringing the blunt end of the shaft into his stomach, keeling him over before bringing an elbow into the back of his head.

Just as he was about to finish Crimson off, Sky came out of nowhere and kicked him away, his wounds healed. Brafez shook his head, feeding fire to Fenrir's maw as he swung it into Sky's chest, right as the clone threw himself at his creator. The clone gave a strangled cry, trying to pull himself off of the blade before Brafez tackled him to the ground and lit his insides on fire, shoving Fenrir's teeth deep into his chest.

"Stop it!" Brafez heard himself say, a clone dressed in normal blue on the verge of tears as he ran over to them, only to be stopped as the rest held him back. Norm pushed a hand through the crowd, trying somehow to reach Sky as he burned. "You're killing him!"

Brafez hung his head and cried, forcing Fenrir deeper still, all the while Sky gasped for air as his lungs were incinerated and turned to ashes. "I never wanted any of this." He choked out, wrenching his axe free before kicking in Sky's chest, which was an easy feat since his bones had been incinerated. He vaguely remembered that there was another clone before a blade bit into his shoulder, at which point he turned around and shoved Fenrir's spiked-end into the clone's heart, trying to kill him before Crimson roared, fire throwing him away.

When he looked again, fiery wings had erupted from Crimson's back and a crow's skull made of fire had wrapped itself around his head. Brafez began to run at him, watching as a ball of fire built up in his clone's mouth before a blinding flash of white engulfed his vision. For a moment he didn't know what had happened, but then he realized he couldn't feel his arm, and that he could actually _feel_ the heat on his side. When his vision cleared, he realized why; a beam of transparent fire was issuing forth from Crimson, and had turned his arm to ashes.

Brafez tripped slightly, falling forward into the beam. Seconds before he would have died, he caught himself, raising Fenrir in a one-handed swing. Four feet away from Crimson, he threw himself forward, cutting through the flame barrier and into the clone's neck, decapitating him. Brafez let gravity take over for a second, falling past Crimson before he spun and buried Fenrir's teeth into his back, pumping fire into his chest cavity. Crimson collapsed to his knees, speechless, as he had always been, and died.

Brafez fell to the ground, shivering. The fight had taken so much out of him. He wouldn't be able to kill them all, they were all on his skill level. They were him, after all. He felt something rolling down his shuddering cheeks, and realized he was crying. He looked back at the clones; Norm was surrounded by the others, sobbing and screaming while the rest didn't even speak a word. Fenrir fell out of his hands, and he just wanted to die right there before Felicity stepped over him, sheltering him with her body. He clutched at her fur, trying to find comfort in the contact. He didn't find any.

The clones huddled together and disappeared, leaving Brafez to wallow in guilt. He couldn't stop shaking, the guilt of what he'd done too strong to bare. A woman's voice started to sing, sounding in her twenties, but he couldn't make out the words through his pain.

"Brafez, it's okay. You had to. It wasn't your fault." The woman whispered in his ears, a voice like honey that soothed him to sleep. "Tomorrow will be there."

* * *

Felicity sighed sadly, picking the traumatized boy up in her arms and cradling him. He was too old for his age, seen too much hatred. She wished she could turn back time, find a way, take back all those horrors that had damaged the young Rasputin's soul. But with the death of Azeroyth, that was no longer a possibility. She didn't have the soul to try manually.

He had fallen asleep in her arms. She smiled, kissing him on the lips and opening his mouth with her tongue, spitting her ambrosia down his throat. He wouldn't remember this, but he would be healed. Physically anyway. Felicity looked around, whistling for Felicia. Her sister, the armored form of "Felicity", pawed up beside her.

"Felicia, we need shelter. I need to take care of him in the meantime."

"Anything for my _sister._ " the Beowulf quipped angrily, turning to look for a shelter before she felt a glare digging into the back of her head. "Yes?"

"This is not the time, dammit!" Felicity hissed, clutching Brafez instinctively. Her sister sighed and stormed off, issuing back a simple "Whatever."

She shook her head, both irritated by her sister and scared for the child in her arms.

* * *

 ** _Inverness..._**

Mangeele shadowed behind the two head scientists, watching them work on the Beta clones. The footage from before had been impressive, but the fact that their major flaw was something that they themselves could control was...annoying.

"Any ideas on how to fix this problem of our's?"

"Well," Ramirez started, gesturing to the tube to his left. "We could make a copy of their genetic structure, lace the gryphene into their skin, therefore acting as a second body in case of extreme bodily harm. That would solve-"

"Why not lace it through everything in their bodies?" Mangeele inquired, interrupted the scientist. Ramirez readjusted his glasses, looking back at the doctor.

"W-Well, that would require a few weeks time, two at the most, over which the clones would experience extreme agony."

"Why not sedate them?"

"You see, Doctor, this sort of surgery requires an awake patient. The lacing through the skin takes a few hours, and is relatively painless. But what you're asking...I can't do it."

"Think of this as an experiment, Ramirez. You've done experiments before, haven't you?" The Doctor inquired with an iced tinge, pressing a blade to the scientist's throat. Ramirez gulped and nodded his head, careful not to cut his own throat on accident. "Good. Now, on the matter of the emotional breakdown of Clone A-3, why did this happen?"

"Yes, of course sir. In the gestation period where we'd usually implant emotional inhibitors, there was a risk of death for A-3, so we neglected to insert one. On the bright side, he's currently connected to our target, so if he feels like it, he could tell us."

"And what is the status of the Grimm countermeasures?"

"They work excellently. Since there is a mixture of Dark and blood running through each clone's veins, they can drink Dark from their prey, healing their wounds, recharging their Aura, and granting them increased power. Of course, this is offset by their defective Auras and lack of their creator's diseases. As another minor setback, the 'Intellect' Semblance was not properly copied, so we gave them the power to defy death by transforming into a fiery bird of prey."

"Impressive work Ramirez. So, why haven't you asked him where the original is?"

"Did you _see_ him? He was a mess."

"Ask. Him. _Now."_

"I can't."

"You can't or you won't? The two are _very different. So I suggest you reconsider, scientist Ramirez."_

Ramirez sighed and patted Mangeele's shoulder, walking away. For some reason he couldn't move. Why couldn't he move?!

"And Doctor," Ramirez started, pressing a few buttons on the console. Ariana thumbed the intercom, calling for guards. The Doctor could feel the scientist's smug grin boring in his skull as he stated "Don't tell me how to do my job."

* * *

 ** _The Dead Zone..._**

Katie rested in the snow, breathing through her nose. She was listening to the wind; a sudden shift in movement would-

She rolled off to the side as the ground next to her burst apart, a K-Class Grimm roaring for her blood. Katie readied Kargonslayer, getting ready to strike before the Grimm shoved an arm-blade into her left arm, right at the elbow. While the cloth held, her arm did not, smushed apart by the forces in motion. She screamed, arm stuck in the ground as the Grimm raised its second arm. A red dot showed on the Grimm's chest, but she didn't have the strength to reach it-

She gripped the sword in her hand and pushed it up, striking the Grimm in the heart. It toppled over, heart pierced. Katie's vision swam, the blood loss making her concentration wane. In a few more minutes she would be dead, not at all the strong little girl that she was trying-or had tried-to be. However, fate was much kinder to the schizophrenic than it had been to Brafez, and footsteps could be heard approaching in the snow. It might've just been her illness, or a hallucination due to the lack of blood, but she saw him, Brafez, wearing black armor, and standing over her. She felt something jab her arm, and then her blood was on fire, throwing her into agony.

A few hours later she woke up, her head pounding. In place of her arm was a black gauntlet, spikes sticking out of the side. She twisted her wrist and her hand popped off, revealing a smooth barrel in place of arteries and bone. Yet, it still worked as well as her old one. Katie looked to her left, and her breath caught in her throat.

It was him.

"Hi Katie. I'm sorry about the arm, but you would have died if I hadn't done anything. Before you ask any questions...I'm not the Brafez you knew. Remember that body you saw on the Beowulf that he escaped on? That was me. I'm his clone. I know it won't be the same, but I couldn't stand by. I had to come back."

"So...you're his clone?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Did he..."

"Did he what?"

"Did he love me?" The clone thought for a second before answering her.

"Yes. Very much so." The reply made her heart skip a beat. "And Katie?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"I'm seven years older than you. That makes me seventeen years old, and you, ten. If we got into a relationship, it wouldn't be approved of." She giggled, confusing him.

"Silly. Who's going to notice way out here?"

He, for once, smiled. "Good point."

* * *

 ** _Several days later..._**

Brafez had almost recovered fully from the clone's attack when he entered the Daliki forests. He didn't remember Felicity helping him, just that a day later he'd woken up in his hammock with one arm and the Grimm by his side. The emotional guilt still hung heavy in his heart, but he had to keep going. The Sect wouldn't stop until he was dead.

As he stepped around the perimeter of a clearing (which he refused to enter, since something bad happened every time he walked into one), a noise to his left caught his attention. The young Exterminator sighed, pulling aside the fauna just in time to see eyes jump at him from the dark, one pink and one brown. He dropped to the ground, the ambusher flying over him.

"Not again," he muttered, walking out into the clearing where his attacker was waiting for him. He was surprised to find that it was a girl, around sixteen and relatively short. So, around his height. Her hair split down the middle, one half pink, while the other side was brown. A parasol hung at her side, dangling loosely from her hand. An odd choice of weapon, but he'd seen weirder. "You have a name?"

She smiled at him, but remained silent. He nodded his head, and shrugged, walking away before a flash of light caught his eye. When he turned around the girl was gone, but he felt his guard raise in response. He had a feeling that this wouldn't be a fight he could run from. The girl reappeared at his left, rushing him. Instead of attacking her, however, he swung to his right, hearing a grunt of surprise as the girl faded into view, only to run off again.

For some reason, he began to hum, twirling Fenrir around in his hand.

 _Mirror, mirror, on the wall..._

 _Where will I fall?_

He hacked through the air in front of him, hearing another grunt. Brafez mentally kept track of how many times he had landed a hit, this lethal game of hide-and-go-seek going on for quite some time before he just got tired of taking hits and giving them back and showered the area with lightning, hoping for one bolt to hit the girl. When he didn't, he spun, a bolt of lightning erupting from the stub of his arm and striking the girl in her forehead, knocking her out and probably giving her brain damage. With the threat eliminated, Brafez sat down beside her, taking a deep breath.

He hadn't realized how taxing the fight had been on him-

"Well, nice job there mister. Mind telling me your name?" Another girl asked, stepping out of the shadows. Her grey eyes watched him closely, an attentive look in her posture. The grey cat ears that rested on her head were angled towards him, likely to listen if he made any sudden movements. She was rather beautiful, looking exactly thirteen, but for reasons not yet explained, she was eleven.

"Rasputin. Brafez Rasputin. And you are?" He replied, feeling a bit uneasy under her gaze.

"Ariad Greyhound, the one and only. I have a question for you." Ariad said, waiting for him to come to her. After he did, she gestured to the forest behind her, eyes wide and happy. "Did you know that you were trespassing on private property?"

"Uhh...You own the whole forest? Odd, I didn't see your name anywhere." He quipped, smirking. She smirked back before looking behind him.

"Oh, and that's Neo."

Brafez turned around, only to be knocked out as the front of a parasol collided with his forehead.

* * *

 _ **END OF CHAPTER 15**_


	17. Rebound

**_A.n. Warning! OOC Neo beyond this point! Aka, HorNe-o! Get it? Cause...you know...I give up. Also, techni-bestiality. In addition, an old/new friend comes into play. Also, Fallout 4 came out and suffocated me for a few weeks, and before that I was having trouble writing and...ugh, it was not fun. But I'm back now, and (hopefully) better than ever._**

 ** _START OF CHAPTER 16_**

* * *

 ** _This kid just can't catch a break..._**

Brafez woke up a few days later, on a bed of silk sheets. Felicity was lying in her own bed, the sheets torn to shreds by her claws. He put his hand against the wall, noting that it was naturally cold to the touch. Was he underground? At that moment the door to his room opened, the girl, Ariad, peeking inside.

"Hey. You awake?" She inquired, leaning against the door frame.

"Yeah."

"Good," Ariad said, opening the door all the way. She walked over to him, sitting down on his bed. "Sorry about the sleeping arrangements; it was the only way I was getting the both of you in here without Neo trying to fuck ya."

He wrinkled his nose, unfamiliar with the word.

"What?" Brafez inquired innocently, to which she replied by breaking that innocence.

"You know, beat your meat, choke your chicken, envelope the package? None of those ringing any bells?" Ariad asked, Brafez shaking his head in response. "Ugh. You know, _sex?"_

"Is that the kissing-stuff?" She mentally face-palmed.

"You don't know what sex is?"

"No."

"At all?"

"Never heard of it." Ariad sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and nodding her head.

"Okay. Today's Friday, on the weekend, we're having a learning session. Be there. Now get up and get changed, the last thing we need is Neo trying to come on you."

"You mean come onto me, right?"

"No, I-...just get dressed. I ordered a spare set of your clothes for you, considering the state of the old ones. I'll wait outside." With that, a set of his clothes fell on his face from Elsewyre, and Ariad retreated out the door. He looked over at Felicity, who was still sleeping, and got out of bed, changing quickly and joining Ariad outside. He felt his back pocket, feeling a sense of relief as the cold vial met his fingers.

"Excuse me?" Brafez inquired, looking at the smooth hallways that branched off in different directions, the oddly textured doors that felt like hardened dirt, and the candle holders that lined up and down the halls.

"Yes?" Ariad asked back, running a hand through her chocolate hair.

"Where did you find this place?" She looked at him and smiled, a giggle escaping her lips as she turned to the hallway and gestured down it.

"This old place? I built it."

"You did what now?" Brafez asked, sure that he had heard that wrong.

"I tunneled the place out, using my Semblance. We're currently seventy feet underground, surrounded by molecularly-hardened dirt that won't collapse for a thousand years. You can also thank my Semblance for that."

"...Dirt?"

"Yes."

"All this," he gestured to the entire structure around them. "Is dirt?"

"Yes."

"I don't believe you."

"W-Why not?" Ariad stuttered, genuinely hurt.

"Because all THIS," he threw his arm in the air. "Was not made by you."

"How so?"

"Because it's impossible!" Brafez yelled, his opinion not swayed in the slightest.

"Dude," She started, planting a hand on his shoulder. "We live in a world with unkillable monsters, where the laws of physics are broken daily, and where little girls with gun-scythes can clear a forest full of Beowolves in three minutes. Does any of that sound possible?"

After a few seconds, he grumbled unintelligibly and looked at his feet.

"Now that that's out of the way-" Ariad stopped, sniffing the air. Her eyes widened with fear, and she grabbed his wrist, dragging him along with her. "Come on! We need to get to the arena!"

"Wait! Why?" She glared at him, the intensity enough to shut his mouth.

"It's Neo. She's menstruating. Luckily for you, I got over mine last week, so just don't get in her way and you should stay alive." She saw him open his mouth with a question on his tongue, before interrupting her. "This weekend."

"Got it. Where's this arena?"

"Right...here!" Ariad yelled, jerking him to the left and through a doorway. After catching his breath, Brafez stood up, watching as the door behind them locked shut.

"So what are we here for-" he grabbed her wrist as she threw a punch, throwing her over his shoulder with a single arm.

"Nice reflexes!" Ariad called back, flipping mid-air and landing on her feet. She took Fenrir out from behind her back (which was odd, considering it hadn't been there before), and tossed it to him, taking out her own weapon. "Now, let's see how you really fight!"

"I'm usually used to working with two arms, but, let's see how this works out." Brafez muttered, readying himself for combat.

"On three!" Ariad exclaimed, crouching low to the ground, her legs split as she held her weapon behind her back. "GO!"

She threw herself forward, corkscrewling as she activated her weapon, liquid metal being sent flying as she rocketed towards him. He threw Fenrir at her, which she deflected, only to be surprised as two half-circles blew into her back, sending her flying. Brafez took control of the burn dust in his dual chakrams, throwing them at Ariad as she reoriented herself, Fenrir returning to his back.

The lynx faunus swung her blade, striking away the two weapons before Brafez controlled them mid-flight, throwing them at her again and again. She managed to deflect the first twenty throws, but once one got through her defenses, she was done for. Or she would have been, had she not faded into Elsewyre. He caught both chakrams in his hand as they flew back, shortly before being launched into the air before Ariad, courtesy of an uppercut. Stowing them away mid-flight, Brafez threw a couple of fireballs her way to disrupt her attacks.

She simply blocked the attacks with her palm, infrasound radiating outwards and dispelling his fire. Landing, he threw all three of his weapons at once, getting into her guard as she struggled to parry all three. He punched her in the gut, then threw an uppercut at her chin, only for her to block it with her elbow and push her palm into his chest, throwing him away. Ariad pointed her weapon at him, with Brafez manipulating the dust inside and disarming her, throwing it off to the side. Not one to simply give up, she charged him, fist rearing back. He readied his own, throwing as she threw hers. The resulting impact of power sent both their Aura into the red, and sent them flying in opposite directions.

They both stood up, panting and exhausted, but smiling.

"Hey, you did a good job. Just what I wanted to see. Even with the missing arm, you did exceptionally well. Are you sure that you're only a Grimm Hunter?" Ariad said, admiration clear on her face. The smile on his face went away as he remembered the week's events, just now settling in.

"...I-I...If only that were true...then maybe I wouldn't be stuck in this nightmare."

* * *

 ** _That weekend..._**

"Alright boy and girls, class is in session!" Ariad yelled, resting her feet on the desk in front of her. Brafez looked around; Neo was giving him a weird look, and somehow Felicity had managed to fit herself into a desk. The imagery was quite hilarious, and the way that she sat at rapt attention made him chuckle. "Welcome to Sex Ed. This is where we learn how babies are made. First things first, the reproductive organs. I'm going to skip a whole bunch of shit and get down to the nitty-gritty; there are two, the penis, and the vagina. Boys have the peen, girls have the other.

"Neo, stop giving me that look. Anyway, you can mix and match the two any way you want. Now, an orgasm is- N-Neo! Get your hands out of-! Your fingers can not do that in the classroom! Neo, I _swear_ -" Ariad gripped the desk, biting her lip as she trembled.

"U-Um, Teacher? Are you alright?" Brafez asked, standing up before she waved him off.

"N-Never been better. That was an orgasm. Thank you for the...demonstration, Neo. Remind me to cunt-punt you later." Ariad replied, straightening herself and shaking off the after-shocks.

"No problem Ari, anytime." Neo said, a knowing tone in her voice. The lynx faunus glared at her, though the pinkette just smiled and skipped back to her desk.

"Wait, she can talk?" Brafez said aloud, looking at her. Ariad nodded her head, coughing.

"Yes, but, she doesn't talk to bitches. What, did you think she was _mute_?"

"You know, if you ever want a...demonstration, I can certainly help you out." Neo drawled, making him shrink under her gaze. Felicity growled at her, to which the girl named after ice cream blew a raspberry at the Grimm.

"Neo!" Ariad exclaimed, slamming her fist against the desk. "That is our next lesson. Sexual intercourse. Oft. referred to as sex, or, fucking, is an act of intimacy between to people, or a boy and a Beowulf. It is when the penis, being erect, enters the vagina, and, after either a few seconds or an hour of friction, an orgasm occurs. This is when, for girls, the vaginal walls clamp down, either around the penis or something else, and a sense of euphoria follows. For the boy, his testicles, which is where semen and sperm are made, which cause pregnancies, tighten, and he ejaculates into the vagina, or all over his hand. As for why all over his hand, well, that's called masturbation, and you usually do that in private. Makes you feel good. As for the period, the one affecting the body, that is when a girl's...Well, I'll just skip all the icky stuff and tell you that it makes us real bitchy, even though it doesn't. And that is the basics of sex!"

"Yay!" Neo added, only for Ariad to crack her knuckles and smile. She withered under the haunting smile, retracting into her seat.

"What about the...um, the fat build-up on your chests? Is that a disease? Am I going to develop fat on my chest?" Brafez asked, to which she burst out laughing.

"No...No, these," Ariad pointed to her chest, breathing heavily to accent her point. "Are called breasts. Or, mammeries. They develop milk during pregnancy to feed the baby, or babies. You will not have the shape of mine, or Neo's, because you are a boy. Also, they jiggle really well when you jump, or run, or do anything. They also hurt your back if they're big enough, but for some reason mine don't bounce, unlike Neo- pull down your shirt!"

"Excuse me teacher, but, I feel...funny." Brafez interrupted, watching as the pink-haired girl lowered the hem of her shirt.

"Yes, that is called arousal, sexual arousal to be exact. Is your penis standing up?"

"...Yes."

"Good! That means you're attracted to girls. You had the same feeling when you heard our little tussle, right?"

"Yes. I didn't want to interrupt."

"Well, I too was aroused, except by Neo's fingers. What she did to me is called rape. Now, since I know Neo, it didn't bother me that much. But, you know, I'm also crazy so...yeah. Anyway, rape is when you forcefully shove something into someone else, sexually. If I stabbed Neo in the stomach, that wouldn't be rape. But if I stabbed her in the vagina, it would be. Now, rape has long-lasting damage on the psyche, and in the worst cases, causes a person to be unable to have sex for the rest of their lives because they're so terrified. I don't have that problem, with Neo at least, but others will. Here's the thing; you should never, ever, ever rape someone, even if there's a gun to your head, and your Aura's depleted. Understand?"

Brafez nodded his head, his face serious. She welcomed that, especially with Neo in the class.

"Good. Okay, I think I covered everything. No, wait! Almost forgot the final bit. Virginity. You, as of this moment in time and all the way back to your birth, are a virgin. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, it's natural. When you have sex, as in putting your penis inside a vagina, human or otherwise, you are no longer a virgin. If you could stay after class, I'd appreciate it. Class, dismissed!" Ariad exclaimed, getting out of her seat and heading towards his desk. Neo whistled at her, to which she responded by giving her the finger.

"Ariad?" Brafez asked, confused as to why she wanted him to stay after.

"So, I don't know how to ask this but...has Felicity ever showed her rear to you, shaken it?"

"Um...a few times, yeah. Why?" Ariad sighed, sitting on his desk.

"She...wants you to fuck- have sex with her. I'm surprised she hasn't raped you yet; Beowulves, especially female, are known for being insatiable in the bed," she coughed awkwardly, looking off to the side. "Not that I'd know that by experience on the dustnet or anything."

"And that means?"

"It means that she's been sexually frustrated for the past two years. That...isn't fun. I got antsy after a few weeks, but years? That's really bad. I don't...I don't want to pressure you into anything, because it's your choice, no matter what I say or do."

"You want me to have sex with Felicity?"

"I _think_ you should, I don't want you to. I mean, if you're going to do it with someone, it might as well be with someone you love and care about. I know it's not my business, but...just think about it. Give it a few months, make sure you're ready."

"Okay...I'll think it over." He replied, nodding his head. She put a hand on his shoulder, eyes wide with worry.

"Brafez. Really. Think about it. Because you're going to give her something you can never get back." He cracked a smile.

"I lost my innocence long ago. I don't think I'm worried about my virginity."

* * *

 ** _A few weeks later..._**

"Say Ariad, why do you do this?" Brafez inquired, sharpening Fenrir's teeth on a grindstone. She froze, teeth clenched. Should she tell him? Could she?

"I...I'd rather not talk about it. Please don't ask again." Ariad replied, almost in a whisper. He nodded, but not content.

* * *

 ** _A month later..._**

He was sure about his decision, just as sure as when he had decided to leave Inverness, and when he had decided to kill the Watcher. Brafez looked up at Ariad; she was stretching on the arena floor after their latest match.

"Ariad...I've made my decision. I'm gonna do it." He said, standing up.

"Okay. I won't stop you. You're good for the day anyway." She replied, groaning as she rubbed out a knot in her leg. He nodded, walking to his room and opening the door. Felicity picked her head up from the bed, looking at him.

"Hey girl. I...wanted to ask you for something. It's...important." He stated, closing the door behind him. The Grimm nodded, shrinking in on herself and being shrouded in dark mist. When it cleared, he was looking at a young woman in her twenties. Black frizzy hair trailed down her shoulders, stopping at her hips. A pair of black wolf ears were perked up from the top of her head, focused on him. When she shifted, her pert breasts jiggled slightly, her red eyes filled with playfulness and mischief. She licked her lips, tongue running over sharp canines. "I-I...Felicity?"

"Yes, it is I. Sorry for the lack of clothes, but for what you were about to ask, I guess I won't be needing them."

"B-But, you were a Beowulf!"

"And I still am. I am a Barsküld, an agent of Pantheon. I'll explain it all later. But, for now, come here." He nodded numbly, walking over to her and sitting down on the bed.

"Are you human?" Brafez asked, his mouth dry.

"No, I am Grimm. Could you kindly remove your pants?" She giggled when he stared blankly at her. "Would you like me to help you?"

"I...okay." Felicity nodded her head, getting up and removing his clothes. When she returned to the bed, he lay down beside her, taking his hand and interlocking it with hers.

"Brafez," she whispered, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. He nodded, looking at her. "If you don't want to do this, you don't have-"

He didn't reply, taking her head and kissing her on the lips. "I care about you. I want this. Even if I'm not ready, I want to. Can you...can you guide me?"

She nodded her head, taking his arm and guiding him over her. She was gentle, very much so. Throughout the entire act of intimacy she was gentle, walking him through the process step by shuddering step. When it was over she held him as he drifted off to sleep, smiling. Felicity saw the door open slightly, a pair of grey eyes looking inside. She smiled, putting a finger to her lips.

Ariad nodded, confused by the lack of Beowulf in the room, but closed the door. She'd have to ask him about that later.

* * *

 _ **A few months later (6 to be exact)...**_

"Hey Neo!" Ariad called out to her bestest of buddies, skipping over to her pink-haired friend.

"Ye-!" Neo squeaked out as Ariad shoved her foot into Neo's cunt, silencing the poor girl for the next minute.

"You forgot to remind me, bitch." Ariad stated, walking past the incapacitated girl with nary but a huff of amusement. She went over to Brafez, leaning against the wall. "So, I figured something out."

"Go on." He said, nuzzling Felicity's fur. She frowned, shaking her head and taking him by the hand, leading him away. "What?"

"So, I didn't tell you about my virginity. Or, lack thereof. That's because mine was, well, taken. By an older woman named Cinder Fall. But because of that, I have decided to categorize my virginity into two types; girl and boy. Since I already lost my girl virginity, I...What's wrong?" Ariad asked, seeing a question on his tongue.

"Never mind." Brafez responded, looking at his feet.

"No, you were about to ask me a question, now fucking ask it!"

"Why?" He asked, immediately seeing her face crumple.

"W-Why what?" She inquired, licking her lips nervously.

"Why...do you do this? I-"

"I told you I won't answer that."

"Why not? I need to know!" Ariad pushed him against the wall, her arm cutting off his oxygen supply.

" _You don't need to know shit."_ She hissed, throwing him to the ground.

He looked at her, seeing cold, calculative eyes staring back at him. They were filled with rage, anger, but also...pain. She needed help, but she was too stubborn, too hurt to give in and ask herself why? Brafez stood up, watching her as he returned to Felicity, hand clutching her fur. He realized how close he'd come to death, and it was far closer than it had been with the Watcher, or the Grimm. He had stared Death in the face for a single moment.

* * *

 _ **Four months later...**_

"Brafez," Ariad started, holding something behind her back. Brafez looked up at her from the comfort of his bed, more or less hiding beneath the sheets. "You've been here for a year now, and while we have had our disputes and disagreements, I will admit, you're the best damned friend I've ever had. Since it's your birthday, I made you a present."

She held out a robotic prosthetic arm, rather simple in design. He raised an eyebrow, taking the arm and inspecting it.

"I know it doesn't look like much, but, I cultivated some plants that can attach to the nerves and resemble the nervous system, so it should work like your old arm. Of course, that means we're going to have to cut open your stub and find the nerves. So, your surgery is in two hours. Have fun! Here are the coordinates."

After the surgery she asked him to meet her in the arena. That gnawing question quickly rose from the back of his mind during the fight, and he couldn't hold it back, couldn't let it go unanswered. It was his fatal flaw; the hunger for knowledge, that he had known everything up until that point and then selfishly refused an answer. So he did, he let that vile question loose and when she didn't answer he held her down and violated her mind, breaking through whatever mental blocks he had to in order to find the answer. He didn't realize that in doing so, all the repressed guilt would rise to the surface of her mind and break her.

When he did, he let go, disgusted by his actions, by his thirst.

"Aria-" he stuttered, stopping as a bolt of lethal infrasound punctured the air next to his ear.

" _Get. Out."_ Ariad whispered, shivering on the ground, clutching her head in pain as the other hand pointed at him, thumb cocked back. The icy, pained tone in her voice was enough to convince him of her murderous intent. He nodded and ran out of the room, heading for his own. Brafez opened the door, whistling for Felicity and holding the door open for her.

"We're leaving," he muttered, walking past the arena and towards the cargo elevator. He thumbed the 'up' button, not thinking about anything during the ride, hopping on the Grimm as the lift reached the surface and riding off into the forest. Brafez didn't know where he was going, just anywhere far away from what he had done.

Back in the base, Ariad rocked herself over and over as cold water drizzled down her frame. She couldn't believe what she'd done; so many people had died because of her. The chills she felt were different from the ones due to the water. She felt ill, nauseous, and her head seemed ready to burst at the seams.

"Monty...What have I _done_?" She whispered weakly, not even attempting to fight the bile that rose up her throat. How had her life devolved into this _horror_? It's like she had hit every branch on the way out of the tree before falling into a volcano. And the worst thing was that she couldn't hide behind an alternative mind, that she had to face it fully. It was just she, herself, and her against insurmountable guilt.

* * *

 _ **END OF CHAPTER 16**_

 _ **A.n. So, that was a thing...man, Brafez just can't catch a break. Though, to be honest, he was putting himself through a lot. I'd also like to note that Ariad's attitude towards rape (regarding close friends), shows how badly her psyche is broken.**_


	18. A New Life Pt1

_**START OF CHAPTER 17**_

* * *

 _ **Four months later, on the borders of the Valley of Death...**_

"What should we do today?" Brafez muttered, scrolling through the bounties on the Hunter website. The first few didn't interest him, simply because they offered more lien than it was worth for the task. He stopped on one that said "Ancient Grimm terrorizes small community- 500 lien." After reading the details, he came to his decision. "That seems...interesting. Where is this?"

Felicity sniffed the air, huffing. "About thirty miles west of here. We should make it there before nighttime." She answered, walking up to him and lowering herself to the ground. He nodded, climbing onto her back and clutching on to her fur as she lumbered off into the forest.

Within a few hours they reached the small village of Tartarot, and while it had once been a thriving community-

"Where is everyone?" Brafez muttered, looking around. It was as if the place had been abandoned; every wooden house was locked shut, and wooden boards were nailed across the windows. Not to mention the fog rolling in from the east that added another layer of FUBAR to the situation.

"If they're all hiding, we must have a pretty dangerous Grimm on our hands. I-Wait, what's that?" Brafez looked at Felicity, following her gaze until his eyes rested on a figure running towards them. After a few seconds the figure turned out to be a woman, either in her thirties or forties, her dress torn apart from the knees down and soaked with blood.

"This...doesn't look good." He muttered, taking out Fenrir and running towards the woman, who had collapsed to the ground. She was obviously in shock, and the fear that she was releasing told Felicity all the Grimm needed to know. She had felt that fear, that loss, once before. The woman had lost her child. "Ma'am? Are you okay? What happened?"

"My baby...those monsters...They took my baby!" He sighed, resigning Fenrir to his back and helping the woman to her feet. As for why she wasn't freaking out at Felicity, it's because the Grimm was in her "human" form.

"Miss? Can you tell us what happened? Maybe we can help-"

"Brafez, don't waste your breath. You won't get anywhere with her. The best idea now would be to get her somewhere safe, where she can be treated. There's a tavern down the road, maybe that would work." The Grimm woman stated, helping the younger woman walk down the street to safety. Brafez started to follow them, but stopped as he felt a presence behind him. He turned around, seeing a vague mass of shadow hulk back into the fog, just out of sight. He had an irk that the figure was the "ancient Grimm" they were supposed to kill. After it disappeared he shook his head and continued following the two.

* * *

 _ **Inverness...**_

The trail had gone cold a year ago, yet as Welsha looked at her brother's clone floating around in his tank, the only thing she thought was that it wasn't him. It looked like him, it acted like him, but it would never _be_ him. What truly frustrated her was that it refused to talk to her, to tell her where it's creator was, where her brother was. She was so caught up in her brooding that she didn't notice the clone Brafez tapping on the glass in front of her face.

"What?" She hissed, wincing slightly as he covered his ears in pain. "Sorry."

He pointed to the intercom at the bottom of his tank, swimming down to it and waiting for her.

"Yes?" She inquired once she had thumbed the intercom.

"Hi." The clone said in a voice that was identical to her brother's, yet sounded too identical. "I've been trying to get your attention for the past hour, but you were just ignoring me and wearing a weird look on your face."

"Excuse me?"

"What, I was just wanted to tell you about your brother."

All hostile fallacies in her mind disappeared instantly.

"Where is he? Is he...alive?"

"In that order, the Valley of Death, and yes. But...there's something wrong with his Aura. It's...flickering. Almost like a computer system purging it's databanks before shutting down."

"...You telling me he's getting ready to _die?"_

"In simpler terms: yes."

* * *

Brafez returned to Felicity, setting down a mug of coffee in front of the woman. The inn had been a good choice, and when he explained why he was there the owner had offered him a room free of charge. While he had been doing that, the woman had told her story to Felicity; the woman and her four year old son had been out picking berries when Grimm had attacked. The son had been torn to shreds, but she had managed to escape and make it back to town, which had been two miles away.

"Had there been any signs of Grimm before the attack? Unsettling mood, did you feel despair?"

"No, not at all. It was like they just...appeared." He shared a glance with Felicity. The only other time he'd heard of Grimm appearing out of nowhere was with...

* * *

 ** _Inverness..._**

The lights flickered as a tall woman walked down the halls with purpose, her hair like dead wheat dragging on the ground behind her. A pair of black cherry-tipped horns adorned the elder P'thula Barsküld's head, her red orbs wide and alert as she turned the corner and opened the door. Sitting on a leather couch was the Watcher, alive and well.

"Hello, father of my child. I thought we'd never meet again." Persephone Ragnarök stated, closing the door behind her and sitting down on the couch, next to the disfigured Grimm.

"Hello Persy, come to take me back to die?" The Watcher inquired, to which Persephone responded by biting her lip and looking away. "Especially since Smoggyues is so bad at his job."

"Yeah, he never was good at killing his own family. Look, Lilith, if there were any other way..." She stopped, wiping away a few tears before continuing. "At least we can see each other again, one last time."

"You always were an optimist. I hope that never changes." The Watcher muttered, soothing her knuckles with her clawed thumb. "I hope she treats you right. Azeroyth knows I never did. And...say hello to our daughter for me?"

"It's the least I can do." Persephone responded, getting to her feet and helping the Watcher up. When they were both ready, the High Mistress of Dark summoned a passage to Pantheon, and left with her former lover in-hand.

* * *

"No, it's probably just a coincidence. Nothing more, nothing less." Brafez muttered, looking around the room. Across from his table sat Big Boss, except without the robot arm and his horn replaced by a broken-off Beowulf claw. "Excuse me sir?"

"Yes?" He replied, sitting back in his seat.

"What's this ancient Grimm everyone's scared of?" Brafez inquired, to which the man nodded, removing his cigar and taking a deep breath.

"It's name is Diciamus, spawn of the she-snake Allehberra. My name is Pubert. You're that kid, right? Brafez Rasputin?"

"Yeah. Nice to meet you, Pubert."

"I suppose the same. Goodbye, Brafez." And with that, Pubert walked out of our hearts to be referenced in the sequel story, yet never seen again. Oh, and out of the inn. That too.

"How's she doing Felicity?" Brafez asked, turning back to her.

"Marie's going to have a rough...Well, she's traumatized. There's no hope for her." The Grimm woman stated plainly. Brafez paled, aghast.

"Felicity!"

"What? I'm just being honest." Marie broke down in tears, causing Felicity to sigh. "You humans; such fragile mental states, it's a wonder you get anything done."

"Look at her! You made her cry!"

"Uh, I believe it was her _dead son_ that caused the aforementioned tears, not _me_."

"FELICITY!"

At that moment, a chair sailed across the room, turning Marie into red paste as it impacted her with the force of a thousand suns. They both looked at where the chair had come from, only to find a massive Gorrila-like Grimm pounding its chest, roaring for blood. Yet, instead of fur, there were scales covering its body, interwoven into a hardened carapace that blocked all manner of blade.

A fact that Brafez discovered when he threw his chakram at the Grimm, only for them to get caught in the spaces between the scales. Diciamus gingerly took the thrown weapon by the blade and threw it back at his assailant, Brafez catching it with ease.

"A worthy attempt, human, but I shall rend the flesh from your bones after I'm through with you."

"He's just talking out his ass. Show him how you do." Felicity egged him on, sitting down in her seat.

"And once I'm finished with the boy, I will eat your unborn children!"

"Wait, you're pregnant?" Brafez inquired, eyebrows raised as he turned to face her.

"Well, you didn't use a condom, so, yeah. Oh, and concentrate on the fight. I don't want my children to be fatherless."

Brafez nodded, ducking under the Swaterla Grimm's fist and swinging Fenrir, the blade catching in Diciamus' scales. The young Exterminator jumped, the other arm breaking the floor where he had stood. Taking Fenrir, he wrenched the axe from under the scales, throwing it to Felicity before backhanding the Grimm in front of him, hearing the scales scatter like marbles under his shredded knuckles.

"What?!" Diciamus roared, trying to retaliate before he was struck again, this time right above his heart. Brafez grabbed the massive Grimm by the shoulders and threw it into the street, stalking after it. Diciamus feasted on fear, thrived in it. That was how he had won all his confrontations before! But now, the boy before him felt no fear! "How! How are you not afraid?!"

"The moment you dared harm these fine people, your fate had been sealed. Goodbye." Brafez retorted, grabbing onto the Grimm's shoulder and pulling with all his might, tearing the arm raggedly off. Dark spurted from the wound. Before the Grimm could even think about escaping, Brafez had torn off both of his legs, immobilizing him. "Now, you're going to lay there and bleed to death. And before you die, I want you to think about what you've done."

With that, Brafez spun around and headed for the inn, taking Felicity by the hand and heading upstairs. Far away, a mother felt her womb knawing at her insides, the loss of one of her spawn weighing on her chest like a train.

"I will avenge you my son, and when I do, I will dedicate that who took your life's anguished screams to you." She hissed, claws drawing across the cave walls like bones against dough.

* * *

 _ **The next mourning...**_

Brafez awoke with a slight pause, feeling an end of life coming for him. He would accept it, be it by man or monster. A part of him wanted to go to sleep, so he wouldn't see it coming. But he wouldn't. He had always faced his problems head-on; this would be no different. He sat up, looking down at his...lover? Companion? He wasn't really sure what to call her, he just knew that he cared about her.

After getting dressed he went downstairs and ordered a cup of milk and a bar of chocolate, mixing the two together and heating it up. Pubert sat down beside him and asked for some whiskey, taking the glass and grunting his thanks.

"That was a hell of a show you put on last night kid. The four Hunters before you didn't even think of using their hands, just kept swinging away until they died."

"Can you show me where they're buried?" Brafez asked, taking a sip of hot chocolate. Pubert nodded, motioning for the Exterminator to follow. He followed the Big Boss clone through the streets, which, to his delight, were bustling with activity. The two men walked around the outside of the town hall, stopping once they reached a small pocket of dead grass, four wooden crosses erected in a row.

"This is it." Pubert muttered, clapping him on the shoulder and walking back into town. Brafez took a moment to collect his thoughts, and then spoke them.

"First off, you guys are _dumbasses_. Not _one_ of you thought to use your fists? Really? I'm ashamed to be in the same proffesion as you four. That's all I have to say." With that, Brafez turned around and headed back to the inn.

After a quick breakfast and a declinement of the offered payment, the two adventurers headed off into the forest. Brafez felt his skin crawl as he stumbled upon a clearing, and he patted Felicity on the back, stepping into the sunlit grass. The sound of scales pulling on grass was heard, and not long had passed before a Medusa stood before him, her twin-halves eyeing him with hatred.

"Allehberra, I presume?" He inquired, taking out Fenrir and holding the wolf by his hip. The she-snake writhed her lower half in anger, her bosom heaving with each weighty breath. He smirked, resting his axe over his shoulder. "Well then. You gonna kill me or am I going to have to do it by myself?"

"Kill him. Leave the remains to me." The Grimm snake-woman ordered, to which he replied with; "I didn't realize you were a necrophiliac."

All at once Grimm of all species and rankings burst out of the forest, rushing him. The first to die by his blade was a Creep, the Exterminator hooking the axe's head around the Grimm's neck and tearing it off with his momentum. The second, an Ursai, nearly a century old, bisected cleanly in half. The third, fourth, and fifth were barely threats, and by the hundredth kill he was starting to get bored. After a few hundred kills the tide of Dark started soaking into the ground, and a few minutes later the Grimm stopped coming, their bodies disintegrating into black petals and leaving behind a slowly-expanding thirty meter circle around the young Exterminator.

"Have any left?" Brafez muttered, swinging Fenrir around to get the Dark off its blade. Allehberra said nothing, her mouths agape. If this _child_ had managed to kill so many of her spawn in such a short period of time, then what chance did _she_ stand? "No? Good. I'm tired of this war."

And with that, Brafez brought out the vial of Dark, uncapped it, and tilted it back, the vile substance frothing down his gullet. He was tired of it all; the bloodshed, the lies, the monsters, he was done with it. He wanted a new life, one without violence or war. With Felicity able to harbor his soul until they could get to the moon, it was an achievable goal. Pantheon could give him that new life.

He didn't even scream as his body literally began to flake apart in chunks of skin and bone, wilting like a rose and scattering his "petals" to the wind. It was over in seconds. The last petal, orange and bright, contained both his soul and consciousness, a manifestation of his Aura. He felt his soul start to drift off before being pulled down, his consciousness disoriented, and soon he found himself fast asleep.

Felicity held the orange light to her chest, accepting the boy into her body and mind as she changed into her Grimm form, taking off into the bush. Allehberra, both extremely confused and angry, stormed off to go wreak havoc, having had enough for the day.

* * *

 _ **Inverness...**_

Welsha could feel it in her heart that Brafez was gone. As the Bullhead rose into the air, making way for the dragon continent, a soul-crushing emptiness wrapped around her heart, making the poor girl choke back a sob.

 _It's not fair!_ She thought, curled up on the deck of the aircraft. Off in the distance, the top of the cathedral in the middle of Inverness glistened, and from the top shot out a star, burning blue. She knew it was his clone. They'd erased his memories from within the tubes; no need to give him a reason to turn on them. After a minute, the star gained speed, shooting off into the distance and towards Brafez Rasputin's place of departure.

* * *

Allehberra was not having a good week. First her son had been slaughtered, and then the rest of her spawn had been demolished. And to top it all off, the killer had ended his own life, denying her the opportunity. She shook her head, heading into a cave to play with her "favorite pup". She didn't notice the star streaking towards the ground, or hear it impact. That would be her final mistake.

* * *

 _ **Fifty-six minutes later...**_

Brafez woke with a groan, sitting up and running a hand through his midnight-blue hair. What had happened to him? The last thing he remembered was killing a shit-ton of Grimm and then...it all went blank. Well, if the massive pool of Dark surrounding him was any indication, he had survived.

As he stood up, a peculiar smell overtook him. It was citrousy, and had a slight tang to it. Then he realized that the smell was coming from below him, as in, from the gallons of Dark beneath his feet. An axe rested a few feet away from him, it's blade stuck in the ground. He walked over and took it, holding it up to the light. A name resonated within him...Fenrir, that's what the weapon was called. And it was his...odd, he felt like that would be something he would remember. Then he noticed that his gauntlets had fallen off, and so he retrieved them, placing them back on his forearms.

Brafez tilted his head, attuning his ears to the wind. There was the normal ambient noises, like the cicadas and birds, then a rustling of grass, yet right before he was about to stop listening, he heard a voice cry out.

 _"...die?"_

He narrowed his eyes; if someone was in danger, it was his duty, his responsibility to assist them. He just had to figure out the direction of the sound-

 _"LET ME DIE!"_

 _There!_ He thought, sprinting off into the forest and rushing past wildlife. Besides, the animals didn't matter to him, it was that girl who was in danger. The sounds, her pleads, were getting louder, and he could almost hear them if he listened close enough. Finally, he reached the source of the girl's voice; they were echoing from inside a cave, the entrance collapsed.

Brafez cursed under his breath, his hands igniting as he pulled at the rock pile, melting whatever was too heavy to lift and throwing away what he could. As the last rock melted to slag, he heard the girl's voice one last time, a weak utterance if there ever was one.

"Please..."

Readying Fenrir, he rushed inside, seeing a Bellua Medusa towering over a small girl, looking around his age. Not even thinking about wasting time, he threw himself forwards, Fenrir's teeth digging into the she-serpent's tail and making the Grimm hiss with pain.

"You!? I thought you were dead!" Allehberra exclaimed, slamming her tail into his side and knocking him away.

"I guess you thought wrong." He retorted, reaching for his axe before realizing that it had been knocked out of his hands in the tussle beforehand. Allehberra smiled at his misfortune, smashing the ground where he stood, only to realize that he was gone. The sound of a hated familiar weapon appearing out of thin air scarred her ears, and she spun around. The fabled, infamous, hated Blade of Azeroyth rested in the boy's hand, gripped upside down and pointing towards her.

"I'm only going to ask once; Leave, before things get messy." Brafez hissed, the blade three times his height held deftly over his shoulder. Allehberra backed away, reaching behind her back for something. He didn't give her a second, shifting his feet and swinging the blade made of pure light dust her way, a wave of energy attacking her skin.

She writhed as the light bit into her body, piercing it and bursting within her, eventually burning away her heart and reducing her to a husk. Brafez slowly let the blade's hilt slide out of his fingers, a voice, deep and ancient, and soothing, like warm milk, telling him; _"Be careful, young knight, or you too shall be burned by my luminescent mind."_

As the tip of the blade hit the ground, it shattered into motes of light. Yet the moment the blade had left his grip, Brafez had already turned his hands to the heavens, firing off a massive burst of fire to drain his Aura before it overloaded.

Light dust was just as lethal as Dark, but whereas Dark was Azeroyth's lifeblood, Light dust was the remnant of his soul. When exposed to a being with a soul, the Light dust accelerates the healing process and boosts the user's Aura tremendously. However, once the user stops taking in light dust, their soul "cooks", with the overflow painfully killing them. Imagine a lightbulb, and when a power surge happens, the lightbulb breaks. Yet in this case, the body is the glass bulb, and the energy surge is the light dust. Back to the story.

Brafez fell to his knees, his body shaking from withdrawal and the discharged energy. When he looked at his hands, they were burnt by his own fire, a reflection of what the Blade of Azeroyth had done to him. He didn't know why it had appeared, just that it did one _hell_ of a job at killing Grimm. He dragged himself over to the husk of Allehberra, using her busoms as handholds to lift himself high enough to get at her necks.

Once he was comfortable, he bit into her carotid arteries, drinking down the Dark in her veins to the last drop. Brafez sighed happily, his energy returning. He turned back to the girl, completely oblivious of how terrifying his actions had just been. But instead of screaming in horror and running around in circles, the girl looked at him with curiosity, tilting her horned head to the side.

"Your eyes...they're glowing. They're...so pretty." The girl remarked, to which Brafez responded by looking at a pool of water. She was right; his eyes were glowing brightly, almost blindingly so.

"I guess you're right. What's your-" He turned around to ask the girl a question, only to realize that she was inches away from his face. Her blood-red eyes were dulled with guilt, and her paper-white skin was covered with dirt and grime. "...name?"

"Can you do it?" She asked, almost whimpered, her pearly white fangs glistening in the dark.

"Do what?"

"End my life? Kill me? Can you?" It took a moment for him to realize what she had asked him.

"Why?"

"I don't wanna keep living. I want to die."

"Why's that?"

"I..." the girl trembled, almost collapsing in on herself before he put a hand on her shoulder. She looked at it with awe, like it was a gift from the dead god himself. "I ate me mother. I...had to do it, to survive. I wish I rotted away next to her instead."

"I..." Brafez swallowed, a slight tinge of nausea in his chest. What could he say?

"Pandora." The girl muttered, looking up at him. "My name's Pandora Ragnarök. You?"

"Brafez. Brafez Rasputin. But you can call me B. Nice to meet you?" He said, with a slight hesitancy at the end.

"I saw what you did to the snake-lady, and I don't feel her presence anymore. So, that must mean you killed her. Can you do the same to me? Drink me dry?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"My duty as an Exterminator is to kill Grimm and keep people safe. By killing you I'd be breaking my code."

"I'm neither human nor faunus. Can you guess what I am?" Pandora inquired, watching him with deceivingly sleuthy eyes.

"You're...no, you're not one of them. You can't be!" Brafez exclaimed as the realization dawned on him. Pandora shook her head, curling into the fetal position and becoming shrouded by a dark mist, and a few seconds later a young P'thula Grimm lay in her place. "Still denying it?"

"I...What _are_ you?"

"I'm a Barsküld. You've heard of them; 'shape-shifting abominations that take the guise of a faunus to hide amongst humanity?'"

"I mean, I've _heard_ of them, but I never thought...no, I've met one before. Why can't I remember?"

"So, since I'm a Grimm, that means you can kill me."

"...no. I won't. You have the will to live, I can see it in your eyes!"

" _Then why do I want to die?"_ She asked, her voice breaking.

"Because you're too ashamed of having to eat your own mother. Well, I'm here to tell you that there's nothing to be ashamed of in surviving."

She startled him when she started laughing, a sick, sorrow tune.

"Oh? Nothing to be ashamed of? Like you would know shame."

"I have. I hurt my best friends, left my family behind, all for the greater good. I...I've lost track of it lately. What _good_ is. And I need someone, anyone, to help me find it. I figure that that someone might be you." Brafez looked at her, pleading with his eyes. It shocked Pandora; so much raw emotion, so much fear. It made her realize that she wasn't the only lost one on Remnant.

"Okay. Friends?" She asked, holding out her hand. He took it, gripping it gently. Then, they shook.

"Friends."

* * *

 _ **CONTINUES NEXT CHAPTER**_

 _ **A.N. Didn't want this to be 8000 words long, so I'm splitting it into two/three parts.**_


	19. A New Life Pt2

**_A.N. So, just as a reminder, Brafez is to Remnant as Big Boss is to the world in the Metal Gear Universe. Brafez is literally the greatest child soldier in the world. If he had been able to grow up...Well, lets just say that the name of Reaper would be fitting to him. He kinda goes off the deep end in the Alter-verse._**

 ** _CONTINUING FROM CHAPTER 17_**

* * *

 ** _On the streets of Tartarot..._**

Welsha couldn't breath. Her old life was crumbling around her, and she couldn't do a damn thing to stop it.

He was gone, dead, deceased, and she would never see him again. Welsha braced herself against a house, motioning for the Exterminator team to keep going. The streets of Tartarot were empty now, the civilians having retreated indoors to seek refuge from the new arrivals. It was a privacy that she was grateful for.

She didn't hear the footsteps coming from behind her, and barely acknowledged the hand on her shoulder.

"Excuse me Miss? You may want to go inside, so that way you don't attract all the Grimm on this Monty-forsaken continent." Pubert stated, startling her.

"Wah! W-Who are you?" She asked, after hastily regaining her composure.

"Name's Pubert. I'm...Well, I'm a wanderer of these parts. I keep things in check, make sure people are safe. And right now, you aren't safe. Say, you're that girl, Rasputin's sister, right?"

"Y-Yeah...at least I was."

"So he really is dead. I didn't want to believe it, but... an hour ago, it felt like the world just got a hellovalot darker. Like a candle had flickered and died. He was a good person."

"No. He was a _hero_. For all of us. I can't help but look to the future and wonder 'what will it be like without him?' And I'm scared of the answer." Welsha brought herself up to her full height, taking her staff in-hand and looking at Pubert. "But I know he'll be watching. Thank you, Pubert."

"You're welcome. We all need a little help in these trying times." He said, waving goodbye with his left hand. With that, she followed after the team, taking charge and leading them into the forest.

* * *

 ** _Back to the clone and the Grimm girl..._**

Right around the same time, Brafez had managed to convince Pandora to travel the world with him, fighting evil in the name of justice. Of course, they both knew that reasoning was bullshit, and that she just wanted a reason to leave the cave she'd been in for the past eleven years of her life. Yet as they traveled through the forest, a question lingered near the tip of his tongue.

"So, where'd you learn how to speak?" Brafez finally asked, pushing a branch out of the way and helping his Grimm companion over a dead log.

"I didn't learn, it was just something I knew. Like that fire is bad; it's just something you know." Pandora explained, frequently sniffing the air. P'thula Grimm had a great sense of smell and sight, able to smell a bear shit in the woods from two miles away, and quite possibly see it too.

"Oh. Did you...uhmm, _know_ , that you-"

"Smell like Beowulf feces? Yeah, I know. I don't like it either. Ever since the cave entrance collapsed, I was unable to get to the stream that I usually take a bath in. Speaking of which, it's just up ahead," Pandora noted, pointing to a break in the trees up ahead. "I think I'm gonna stop and scrub myself clean."

"Okay. Take as long as you need." Brafez replied, taking out Fenrir and climbing a tree overlooking the stream, so that way he would know if any Grimm were coming. The Grimm girl nodded her gratitude, descending into the stream and starting to scrub herself clean.

After a good fifteen minutes, Brafez glanced down, only to have his breath catch in his throat. He couldn't believe what he was seeing; underneath all that dirt and grime was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. The way her paper-white skin glinted in the light was breathtaking, and her black hair helped to embellish it even more.

" _...beautiful..._ " He muttered. Pandora blushed and looked at her feet, her tail curling lazily behind her back.

"T-Thank you." She replied meekishly, her cheeks turning blood-red.

"...ahem. So, do you wear clothes or...?"

"I could. Do you want me to?"

* * *

 _ **Welsha...**_

"Commandant?" Welsha looked up, the Exterminator catching her eye.

"Yes?"

"We've got a signal on the clone. In addition, there's a high reading of Dark up ahead."

"Thank you James. Alright boys! We're moving out!" The purple-haired warriess commanded, taking charge and leading the group further into the trees. Upon reaching a clearing, she raised her hand in a fist, pulling on a gas mask and walking onto the dampened grass. Her boots squelched with Dark, stopping as she knelt down and picked up a robotic arm. She knew it was her brother's; she could feel his residual Arua in it.

"I swear to you; I will end them all." She hissed, throwing the arm into a portal that lead to her bed. The Sect would feel her wrath; but not today. She would let it fester within her, drive her, consume her very essence if need be. And in the end, only she would rise from the ashes, a new head for the religious group to follow. A purer one.

"All right boys, our objective is to find the clone and bring him back to Inverness. Now, lets get to it!"

* * *

 _ **Inverness...**_

Ramirez was ecstatic with the results. Clone-A3 had performed admirably on the field. Though the appearance of that weapon was so very intriguing; he'd have to run tests-

"Oh _Ramirez..."_

No. It couldn't be...

The head scientist turned around, Mangeele behind him inside a clear plastic box.

"What? How?!"

"I have my ways. Now, would you _kindly_ open my cage and disarm yourself?"

Against his will, against all reason, Ramirez found himself moving towards the glass box, dropping his sidearm and pulling out his scroll. A few button presses later the door swung open, the Doctor stepping out of the pod and looking at the door to the room. Five seconds later, two guards walked in, weapons trained on him.

"Kindly kill yourselves." Mangeele dismissed, shooing them away as they turned their weapons on each other. "Now, Ramirez, tell me the results of the recent field test."

"Of course sir. Clone-A3 has proved exceptionally well-"

Mangeele wore a thin smile as the scientist reported his findings.

 _Now everything is back in motion._

* * *

 _ **Felicity...**_

Of course, the first thing she did following the original Brafez's demise was get out of the Valley of Death, because fuck that place. The second thing Felicity did was awaken Brafez's soul that was contained deep within her. She would explain what was going on and how to cope with his new 'body', since technically the addition of a third mind would add a third form to her Grimm form. Felicia, the ever-bitch she was, would obviously disagree with waking him, just as she had with taking him in.

"Brafez," she spoke within her, allowing his soul to awaken.

When he woke, he felt... _different_. He was low to the ground, and his range of smell was greatly increased. Plus, you know, he had two arms, instead of one. And, there was an inkling in the back of his mind; an itch. He could taste...pain. Despair. He could taste emotions. It almost drove him mad, but somehow he managed to reel it back.

He imagined a small patch of grass, with a tree on the left side. Brafez nodded, and projected himself into this world, laying down on the tree and waiting. After a few minutes, Felicity appeared beside him, coughing to get his attention.

"Hi." He said, kissing her on the cheek. "So, I guess I'm dead, but not?"

"That's putting it lightly. But, yes, you are dead. At least your body is. Your soul resides within me, and since I can't die, you're safe. Now, all we have to do is get to a Husk Launcher and teleport to Pantheon. As for our children-"

" _Children?"_

"To be fair, we had _a lot_ of sex."

"Fair point. How many?"

"Umm..." Felicity started counting on her hands, reaching ten before Brafez grabbed her hands and put them in her lap.

"That...is a lot of kids. We're taking half to Pantheon, right?"

"Yep. The other half will stay with Felicia on Remnant. So, we should probably get moving." Felicity started to sit up, stopping as Brafez touched her shoulder. "Yes?"

"Before we go...can I see the world one last time?"

"Of course."

And so with that, the trio set off to explore the world.

* * *

 _ **With Welsha, the clone, and the Grimm girl...**_

"Ma'am, I've got high Dark reading from the spot next to the clone. I don't know why he isn't attacking it." Jimmy stated, putting away his motion-tracker and readying his HMG. Welsha put her hand on his barrel, forcing it down and walking forwards. A few seconds later, she saw the clone holding hands with a naked, horned girl, walking towards them. They hadn't seen her yet, as they were too engrossed in their conversation with each other.

"Brafez?" She called out, catching the clone's attention.

"Huh? Oh! Hi Welsha! This is my friend, Pandora." Brafez stated, before noticing the Exterminators hiding in the trees behind her. He pulled Pan close, whispering in her ear, "When I say run, run."

"Got it." She whispered back, placing Brafez between her and the trees. She could sense their lust for revenge, their hatred for her kind. Frankly, she didn't blame them.

"Welsha," Brafez started, his legs tightening for the sprint. "You've come to take me back, haven't you?"

"I-" Welsha started to reply before Jimmy sprung out of hiding, aiming his weapon at the clone.

"Fire!" Jimmy cried, shortly before a Beowulf leapt from the forest and barreled into him, claws hammering at his Aura. The rest of the Exterminators shot at the Beowulf, bringing it down within seconds, yet soon after, dozens more burst out of the bushes and jumped them. Among the confusion, Brafez saw Welsha mouth for him to escape, easily dispatching her own Wulf before Jimmy's head flew out of the brawl and landed on a branch.

"Run!" The clone exclaimed, throwing Pandora over his shoulder and hauling himself up the creek. The Grimm girl shook her head, planting a hand against his chest and holding the other forward, a black of Dark gathering in her palm. A second later they were two miles away from the group, thanks to her Dark abilities.

Welsha watched them teleport away, the fight having ended seconds before. "How many casualties?"

"Two, Commandant. Brother Jimmy and Sister Dask were felled by the beasts." Brother Palatine stated, resting his weapon on his shoulder.

"Injured?"

"The rest are fine, myself included. The clone?"

"Escaped with the girl. I say we return to town and-"

 _"Commandant Pierre? This is Doctor Mangeele. You can stop chasing our friend. I have an...agent of mine going after him."_

"Yes sir. You heard the Doc. Let's head on home." Welsha ordered, glancing back at the spot where the two had disappeared, rage for the Doctor in her heart. It pained her to walk away, to deny the new Brafez a home he so rightfully deserved. But if her plan was to work, it needed to be done.

* * *

 _ **Two months later, on the outskirts of Mithreal...**_

Ariad frowned, her cheek propped against the stock of her suitcase-sniper rifle. The crosshairs were on her target's forehead, her finger ready to end him. So, why hadn't she?

She'd been following him for the past few hours, and every time she had the chance to kill him, she didn't. So, yet again, why? Ariad knew the answer.

She was sick and tired of killing. Of the guilt that plagued her heart and wracked her mind to shambles. She'd never wanted this life, to be an assassin. All she had wanted was to teach biology. And look where she ended up.

Ariad sighed, mecha-shifting her rifle back into its suitcase and placing it against the holder on her back, the magnetic clips locking it in place. That settled it. She was _done_. Fuck the Sect, fuck Cinder, and fuck her childhood, because she was tired of it all.

Holding her arm out and biting her lips, she dug her fingers into her wrist, working through the blood and pain to grip the tracker in her arm and tear it out, crushing it as her Aura healed her wounds. Ariad shook her hand free of gore and held it to the sky, the prototype armor she had been working on attaching itself to her body as it reentered the atmosphere from halfway around the world.

"I'm sorry B. For everything. Goodbye." And with that, she traversed branch by branch to her escape, and to the much-needed freedom.

Brafez nodded his head, leaning against a tree and humming. Once he was certain she was seconds away from being out of earshot, he muttered, "I forgive you."

He heard her pause slightly and smiled.

* * *

 ** _END OF CHAPTER 17_**


	20. Silk Dresses and Illogical Fallacies

**_START OF CHAPTER 18_**

* * *

 ** _Mithreal, a year later, outside Brafez's quarters..._**

Pandora ground her feet against the carpet, her dress tight against her skin. Her latest 'lover' had made it for her, and the Grimm girl treasured both it and Shirley, for without her, she wouldn't be able to sleep. The nightmares still haunted her, but a few rounds of sex quieted those dreams and gave her a brief reprieve from the waking world.

As she delayed outside the door, inside, Brafez sat at his desk, typing in a scroll. It contained his most personal thoughts, and his darkest secrets. The fact that he was a clone didn't bother him, or that he was a living weapon. Instead of going "OW THE EDGE", he decided to be positive about the whole ordeal, except for one tiny problem, in his eyes.

What was his _name_? With the old Brafez dead, he guessed that the name was his, but it didn't feel right. It was like you were given hand-me-downs covered in the blood of your father, except you had to wear them forever. Which, in a way, it was exactly like that, since Brafez had been his "father".

A knock at his door drew him back from his sea of thought, his favorite red eyes peering at him. He was glad she knocked; didn't need a repeat of the last "incident." That had been...awkward, to say the least. What made even more awkward was that he had been thinking of her whilst...ah, _exercising._ Yes, lets call it that. But, he considered her one of his closest friends, despite her reputation within the town.

Besides, it not like she was hurting anybody, no, quite the opposite in fact. And as long as she was healthy and happy, who was he to judge?

"Hi Pan. What do you want?" Brafez asked, breaking out of his inner monologue.

"What're you writing about?" The Grimm girl asked back, dodging his question.

"Oh, just, my thoughts."

"Can I...see them?" Brafez winced slightly, turning his scroll off and standing up.

"I'd rather you not. Some thoughts are just too dark." She scoffed, her tail curling lazily.

"You do know who you're talking to, right?" Brafez winced yet again, having repressed her tragic past.

"Sorry. What did you want again?"

"Well, it is your birthday tomorrow, so I was going to give you an early birthday present."

"Okay. What is it?"

"Close your eyes."

Being her friend, and trusting her, he did. After a few seconds, he heard what sounded like silk falling to the floor.

"Open them."

He did, and what he saw surprised him. Before him stood Pandora, stark naked and bashfully wide-eyed. Brafez blinked once, twice, but still the sight remained. He swallowed hard before speaking.

"I...P-Pandora-"

"Yes?" She inquired, sashaying her hips as she walked towards him.

"I can't-" Brafez spat out, trying to look away from her tantalising body.

"Think not with what is right, but rather, what you desire. So, as my best friend, can you tell me the truth? Nothing will change between us, but if you lie to me, you won't ever see my face again." Pandora stated, placing a hand on his cheek. He looked at it, then back to her eyes, those brilliant eyes that only someone like her could have.

"I...yes. Ever since I saw your true beauty in the forest, I knew that I needed you. I didn't know how, or why, but I just..."

"Okay. Look, if you don't want to-" Brafez silenced her, drawing her in close and kissing her on the lips. He could feel her tears of relief sully her skin, only to end up on his own. This felt right; the warmth, the emotion, everything about this moment felt just right. Only after their copious amounts of copulation did she fall sleep, smiling into his eyes. He almost forgot to tell her about the message he had gotten from his sister.

"Pan-" Brafez said, trying to calm the irrate Grimm down.

"No! She's with _them._ She's _dangerous."_ Pandora shouted, not even bothering to cover herself as she stalked towards him.

"She's my _sister._ " He retorted, his eyes ablaze. She looked at her feet, not wanting to see him like that.

"I know...I know. But-"

"But what?!"

"WHAT IF YOU DIE?!" The Grimm girl shook, falling to her knees.

"...You _sicken_ me. To even think that _my own sister_ would try to kill me-"

"You keep acting like you're him. Like you're the greatest Grimm killer in the world. Yes, you have his _body_ , his _memories_ , but you're not _him_."

He was quiet for a second, then a minute.

"You're better than him. You don't have to live in the past." She softly stated, standing up and putting on her dress, storming out of the room. Brafez opened his mouth then closed it, walking outside his room and looking down the hall. He watched his best friend walk away, never speaking a word. He hated himself for it, so much so that he wanted to die. The next day he got his wish.

* * *

 ** _Two days after the incident..._**

The next time he woke up, he had no knowledge that he was a clone, that the Sect wanted him dead, or what he and Pandora had done that night. Pandora nursed him back to health, occasionally giving him sips of Dark to further the healing process. About a month later he was ready and rearing to go, to protect his home of Mithreal. Never once did she speak up, or mention the truth. She thought it was better that way.

* * *

 ** _Inverness, in the deepest chambers..._**

"Mangeele, where are you taking me?" Welsha demanded, waiting with the Doctor as the elevator came to a halt.

"You know of our cloning process?"

"Of course I do. What about it?"

"The reason Atlas condemns the use of clones is because they lack souls, and without them, they cannot produce an Aura, a Semblance, or anything that would be beneficial to the Atlas department of war. Have you noticed something... _different_ about these clones?"

"They...have souls...Mangeele, _what_ are you up to?"

"Aura Transfer. A risky, and otherwise lethal, operation. The body is not meant for two souls. But, we have...tuned it to our needs. Watch." With that, the giant doors in front of them opened to reveal a large white room, with two massive, glowing crystals in the center of the room. They were red and blue, respectively, but glowed as if there was a hint of sentience within them. "Clones do not have souls; you can copy the body, but not the mind. What I am about to tell you is top-secret. These are the crystallized souls of Mercy and Guglio Rasputin, the parents of the late Brafez Rasputin. You knew him, obviously."

"Crystallized...souls?"

"When the body dies, the soul has two choices; fragment into elsewyre, or harden, allowing them to keep watch over their sons and daughters. The crystals are sacred ground, and what we are doing is grounds for execution." Mangeele explained, walking over to the blue crystal and taking out a pocket knife. "However, if the soul is transplanted into a new body, it returns to its ethereal state of being."

"Wait... _no. No, you wouldn't-"_

"There's a reason that they call me the Devil Doctor," Mangeele scraped at the crystal, a small shard no bigger than a finger falling into his deft hands. "This is merely one of them. I'm suprised they haven't killed me yet."

"You transplanted the soul of Brafez's _dead mother_ into his _clones_ , giving them an Aura?"

"Correction; a defective Aura."

"That's...that's-"

"Ingenious? A feat of modern science? A necessary evil?"

" _Immoral."_ Welsha hissed, her staff drawn. Mangeele gave her a look that said "lul, really bro?"

"Commandant Pierre, you are to leave the premises immediately." The Doctor calmly stated, before a look of horror overtook his face.

"Wax ear plugs. Works wonders against your Semblance. When the world finds out about this, we're all going down. So, I'm going to keep this to myself. But be warned, a day of reckoning will come for the Sect, and when it does, you'll be the first one in the crosshairs." With that, she returned her staff to her back, turning around and exiting the room. Mangeele let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in.

* * *

 ** _END OF CHAPTER 18_**

 ** _A.n. So, yes, I will admit that I'm taking a tinnnny bit of inspiration from Evangelion. No, I'm not sorry, but I do like where I'm going with this._**


	21. Hollowmoon reference

_**START OF CHAPTER 19**_

* * *

 _ **A year later, in three souls...**_

Brafez was happy. The original, that is. For a year he had explored the world of Remnant, and was finally ready to travel to Pantheon. He would live a life of peace on the moon, away from war or violence. He would miss his friends and family, terribly so, but he had to leave. Besides, at this point he was a walking abomination of nature to everyone around him, so why stay?

And so, as they traveled to the Dragon Continent, Brafez thought back on his former life, of his friends and family. If he had to do it over, he'd keep it the same, just to be with his friends again, just to see Welsha's smile again, to see everyone safe and protected because of him. But that was impossible now. There was no coming back from the dead, (cough Clement cough), and such an occurrence was lost to the Old Ages, in the time before dust.

On their final stretch, he couldn't help but smile at the beauty of nature. Out there, there were no Grimm, just regular animals. Trees glinted with snow and ice, frozen lakes concealing the horrors of the depths beneath their encrusted surfaces. It truly was beautiful. As the three crested a hill, far beyond humanity's reach, they saw a massive stone structure arranged into two semicircles facing each other, a pillar scraping the sky on an angle, perfectly aligned with the moon.

"Glad we got here in time." Felicity quipped, steering her lumbering frame down the bowl and onto the rock platform. "You know, these ruins are older than me, and that's saying something."

"How young are you?" Brafez inquired, looking through her eyes at the surrounding architecture. She laughed before answering.

"Ever polite. But don't mistake my physical appearance for the truth; in reality, I'm seven thousand years old. There are older ones, from before my time. They were the first sent to Remnant, you met one, the Watcher. She was known as Lilith once, and even after her transformation a select few called her by her birth name. I wasn't one for all the drama, just kept to myself. Well, as much as I could with this sour-puss around."

"Throwing your own sister under the bus; things never change." Felicia snipped, a small hint of anger in her voice. Before the two could start arguing, Felicity reverted to her human state, Brafez joining her.

"I...have a body?" Brafez muttered, looking down at himself. He was still the eleven year old child he had been when he died, but his body felt solid, material.

"No, and yes. That is the image your soul is projecting to help keep you sane. But other than that, you can't really touch anything. Once we get to Pantheon, your body will become solid, since the rules are different on the moon. At least, I hope so. The last time this happened, there were a few complications..." Felicity broke off, walking over to the rock pillar and placing a hand against it. " _Ia Ia Azeroyth Dortyx_."

Then her sister put her hand on the other side, and began to chant as well.

" _Ia Ia Azeroyth Dortyx!_ "

" _IA IA AZEROYTH DORTYX! IA IA AZEROYTH DORTYX! IA IA AZEROYTH DORTYX!"_

Brafez felt the air...change, growing heavier with each passing second. The semicircles started to emit a midnight-black sphere around the ruin, and then, with a loud rumble and the crack of splitting rock, a black beam shot from the pillar into the horizon, impacting the moon before stabilizing. After a few seconds, the two sisters retracted their arms and met in the middle with Brafez. The middle of the pillar lowered into a set of stairs, leading to the beam.

"Well Sis, this is goodbye." Felicia stated, walking over to her sister and pulling her close, a few tears brimming under her eyes.

"I'm gonna miss you, you bitch." Felicity replied, patting her on the back.

"Yeah, I am a bitch. But I'm a lovable bitch." After separating, the second sister turned to Brafez and hugged him as well. "Goodbye kiddo. Take good care of your babies and my sister, alright?"

"I promise. And take good care of your children as well. Goodbye Felicia." Brafez said, hugging her back. While the two had had their quarrels, they eventually got over them with time. The words spoken were indeed true; they would miss each other, and the two would take care of their children.

Once the goodbyes were said and done, Brafez turned to his partner and held out his hand. She smiled, grabbing it and leading him up to the beam of Dark.

"So, how does this work?" Brafez inquired, watching the beam with curiosity.

"We take a step forward, and then we're at Pantheon. Quite simple really. But once we're there, we'll be put through a special ceremony before being accepted by the general public. So, are you ready?"

Brafez looked back at the world behind him, giving it one, last glance. He turned to her and nodded. With that, they took a step forward and the Dark swallowed them whole, ushering them to Pantheon. Felicia smiled, walking over to the side of the rock pillar and placing her palm against it, the ruin powering down and settling back into it's state of decay.

With a final, subtle nod, she walked into the forest, and into a world without her sister.

* * *

 _ **Pantheon...**_

His senses tingled as a white light blinded him. After a few seconds, the light dimmed down to a level that wouldn't blind him, but that he still couldn't see anything. He could hear a few words being spoken, but couldn't make out the individual sounds. Seconds later he felt something slip on to his ring finger, and then he could see again.

Felicity was standing next to him, wearing a beautiful white dress. A ring of thorns sat on her ring finger, and when he looked at his, he had the same ring.

"Are we...?" He inquired, trailing off as he caught a glimpse of the sky. The sky was broken apart, and then it hit him that he was _inside_ the moon. High up, hovering in the sky, was a giant pulsating mass of black tentacles, or, at least what his mind could make it out to be. In reality, the mass was an indescribable ball of matter, so tightly packed that it struggled to keep itself together.

"No! Don't look at it!" Felicity exclaimed, pulling his head down. "Sorry. That's the Heart of Dark, the source of all Grimm and their lifeblood. We can't look at it, else our brains would melt out our ears. Now, with that out of the way, someone would like to meet you."

"Who?" Brafez muttered aloud, before looking around and seeing hundreds of thousands of Barsküld Grimm all around them, gathered around the altar where they stood. The crowd in front of them parted to reveal a woman with hair like dead wheat that trailed behind her in waves, a pair of black horns sprouting from her head, and a set of ruby-red eyes directed onto the two.

"Hello, young warrior. I see that you've been through a lot during your time on Remnant. But, worry not, that is a thing of the past. Here, you can have...a, I'm not sure normal is the right word for it, but, a childhood. Something that was taken from you at a very early age. So, with that out of the way, I am Persephone Ragnarök, High Mistress of Dark. Welcome to Pantheon."

"Thank you, Mrs. Ragnarök. I am honored to join you and your kind on the moon. I have a question, however; did Felicity and I just get married?"

"Yes. And thank you for your politeness." Persephone added, bowing at the waist.

"Okay." Brafez replied, taking Felicity by the hand and pulling her into a kiss that she easily returned. Once the two seemed to be getting a bit more than frisky, Persephone cleared her throat loud enough for the heavens to hear her. "Ahhm...uh, sorry."

"Yeah. Our bad." Felicity mumbled, throwing the bouquet off to the side. A random Barsküld caught it, screaming loudy and hugging her girlfriend.

"Hey!" A male Barsküld called out, placing a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. "How come _we_ don't get any recognition, huh? Why do lesbians always have the limelight?"

Well, you're being mentioned right now, so, you are prevalent. I just don't use you. Since there are gays couples in this fic, one should assume there are couples of the male race as well.

"Huh. Didn't think about that." The Barsküld muttered, before realizing that everyone was staring at him. "What? The voices are real!"

"Ahhhh..." Persephone cleared her throat again, before a hand grasped her shoulder.

"Where's the boy?" Brafez heard a woman ask, before realizing that he had heard that voice before, a long time ago.

"Summer?!" He exclaimed, watching as the white-cloaked woman ran to him. She picked him up in a hug, nearly leaving him gasping for air before he realized he didn't need to breath.

"Brafez!" Summer said, putting him back down.

"I...I'm very glad to see you." She muttered, looking back at Persephone, who was tapping her foot against the floor.

"Thank you."

"Wait, what happened to your arm?"

"Uh...it's a long story."

"Well, I'm sure these two could use some rest." The High Mistress of Dark stated, gesturing for the two to follow her. The crowd dispersed soon after they left, returning to their festivities. The four approached what appeared to be a massive cathedral that stretched out into the horizon. In reality, the cathedral spanned the _entirety_ of the moon, bridges connecting the broken parts to the mainland.

"So, what does the normal populace do?" Brafez inquired, looking around the Grand Cathedral of Dark as he walked with the three women.

"Well, we are all required to know how to fight, in case the Remnant Grimm try to come back, but other than that, we don't really do much. We kinda just... _are_. I guess that's a result of living for thousands of years."

"How long do Barsküld _live_?"

"Well, when Azeroyth crossed the abyss from his world to ours, it took him a millennia to battle his way to what he thought was a safe refuge. He was wrong. And it is for that reason that we exist today. I don't regret what my ancestors did to him, because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to have a beautiful little girl. She is very strong-hearted. She's had to be for a long time."

"You have a daughter? Is she down there?"Brafez asked, looking at Remnant through the cracked moon.

"Yes. She's accompanying your copy. Her name is Pandora Ragnarök, daughter of Lilith and mine."

"Wait, the Watcher is her father...mother...umm, help me please."

"In the reproduction terms, she is indeed the father. But, we are her mothers."

"Ah, thank you. Is she here?"

"...yes. Her trial is next week. After that, Lilith will be no more."

"What?! But she only wanted to protect-"

"The Creatures of Grimm. We are Grimm, but not Creatures _of._ It is unfair, unjust, but in the eyes of Azeroyth, it must be done. Would you defy a god?" Persephone asked, like as if the answer was obvious.

"If it meant protecting others? Yes, I would." Brafez replied with steel in his voice.

"A noble soul. It's a shame you died. Remnant needs more like you."

"Technically, they got them." Summer muttered, clearing her throat.

"Yes. I presume they did. Anyhow, this will be your living quarters for the rest of your existence." Persephone added, walking to a door and opening it, revealing a room with three branches that curved upwards into Gothic architecture. In the middle branch there was a bed, in the left there was a bathtub and a carpet, and in the right was a couch, a boxing ring, and a moonlit view of Remnant. "And Felicity? A few little ones would like to see you."

At that, the door behind them burst open, seven Beowulf Barsküld children rushing towards her and tackling her to the ground.

"MAMA!" They chorused in unison, Felicity smiling and wishing them happy birthdays. They raised their orange-haired mops to look at Brafez, then bolted after him as he jokingly tried to run away.

"PAPA!" They cried again, nearly suffocating him with their love.

"Hello my beautiful babies, how are we doing?" Brafez asked from under them, his voice muffled under their skin.

All at once they started to speak, each clamouring for attention and trying to speak louder than the last, until soon enough they rivaled the sound of an orchestral choir. Persephone clicked her tongue, silencing them.

"Now, children, why don't you go play with the others?"

"OKAY!" They exclaimed, running over to Felicity and hugging her, then going back to Brafez and doing the same, shouting goodbye as they left.

"They certainly are a handful." Summer added, smiling.

"You think?" Felicity replied, brushing her dress smooth before starting to tear into it with her fingers, the cloth falling to shreds in seconds. Persephone nodded her head, taking Summer's hand and leading her out of the room whilst the Grimm wolf threw Brafez onto the bed and began to ravage him.

* * *

 _ **Two weeks later...**_

After seven days, the Mistress had finally been able to get the two newlyweds out of their room, though it had taken some convincing. Most notably, a bowl of the freshest bacon this side of Pantheon, as requested by Brafez. The sad part was that there were no pigs on the moon, because the Barsküld didn't need to _eat_. And, well, neither did _he_ , but it was _bacon_.

So, the High Mistress of Dark went to her chief cook, and asked him to make the boy some bacon. And, of course, I obliged. Yes, I was actually on the moon the entire time! So, with my expert cooking knowledge, I made the best bacon ever known in this universe.

As soon as Brafez had been handed the bacon, Felicity pushed Persephone out of the room and closed the door, locking it. Then, another seven days passed before the door finally opened to reveal an empty bowl of bacon, and the bride and groom curled up together under their sheets.

It had taken Persephone literally _throwing_ the two out of the room to get them to explore the rest of the planet-wide building. And even then she occasionally caught them having sex in the hallways. She'd spank both of them if she didn't know Felicity was a masochist, and, well, she just didn't have it in her to hurt the boy. He'd been through too much already.

And so, as the exhausted High Mistress plopped down on her bed, her thoughts drifted to her daughter. Pan was young, and broken, but she hoped, somehow, that her heart could be mended. She _deserved_ that much. Oh how she longed to see her once again, to hold her in her arms and banish her demons to the darkest pits of Elsewyre.

Persephone let out a wretched sob before she felt the coiled-steel muscles of Summer's arms wrapped around her waist, her wife beginning to sing. She'd always found it to be the purest form of joy in the universe, except for when they (rarely) had sex, then it was second-best.

"Let's go see them. Okay?" Summer asked, pulling her out of the bed with a gentleness only a mother could know. The High Mistress of Dark nodded her head, leaning on her wife as the two women headed to the Lense Vivicarium. When they arrived, the door was slightly ajar, a dark glow filling the corridor.

* * *

 _ **Minutes before...**_

Brafez opened the door with his only hand, intrigued by the dark glow from under the door. The doorway lead to a massive domed room, a giant lense, about forty meters wide and tall, angled straight at the wall, where another lense was angled at the dome, where a third caught the second lense's light and directed it through the dome and into the...sky? Atmosphere? Whateverthefuck?

"This is...huge. I wonder what it does..."

"Well, I'm here to tell you that." I said from up on my perch, legs crossed over the first lenses thorned frame.

"Who are you?" Brafez inquired, looking up at me.

"I am Xeñoirê Dealphene, your friendly universe-wide narrator. I've been...waiting for you. So, know that you're here, let's get started." I hopped from my roost, impacting the floor and denting the obsidian into the shape of my soles. I winced as I looked at it, whistling innocently. "Oh dear. I can fix that."

Unlike Felicity, Persephone had _no_ problems spanking me, a being ten thousand years her elder. Well, give or take a single digit, but the point was given.

"Can you?"

"Yes." I replied, snapping my fingers, the floor returning to normal. I gestured to what appeared to be a throne made of thorns, facing the lense. "Please, take a seat."

"What's going to happen once I sit down?" Brafez asked, hesitantly inching his way towards the throne.

"The Lense Vivicarium will show you what you want to see." I stated, walking over to the lense and rotating the hand crank until the first lense faced the third lense. Brafez slowly sat down in the throne, the thorns immediately tightening around him and holding him in place. He didn't struggle, surprisingly. A few seconds later, the lense struggled to life, showing an image of Welsha on her bed.

"W-Welsh..." Brafez gasped, tears of joy running down his cheeks. The view of Welsha muddied before clearing, showing Katie having a picnic in the snow with his first clone. "Katie..." The view muddied again, this time showing Ariad running down a corridor, followed by several faunus in white uniforms with red wolves on their backs, guns discharging in her direction. "Oh, Ariad...I...I can't thank you enough."

"I know." I replied, taking a breath before blinking and snapping my head towards the door. "Ah, Persephone, Summer. I was waiting for you to arrive."

The two nodded their heads, waiting patiently as the boy recovered. Once he had, Persephone sat in the throne, followed by Summer. They comforted the others with their shared losses, recounting tales and stories of long ago, from happier days. I just stood off to the side and smiled; soon it would all come together. But until that day, I would wait on the moon, a watchful eye in the universe.

* * *

 _ **END OF CHAPTER 19**_


	22. The End

_**START OF EPILOGUE**_

* * *

 _ **A year later, with gods among the people...**_

Felicia crawled through the underbrush, her pups behind her. Their orange fur made them stand out easily, so they had to stick to the forest. A stream babbled to their left, like the jovialties of the coming fall. The winter had been rather rough the year before, for the humans, that is. Felicia and her kin had no trouble bearing the cold.

She stopped suddenly, sniffing the air. She smelled...woodsmoke...Ozone... It was him; the clone. The Grimm woman poked her head out of the bush, seeing the boy walking away from her, up the stream. He was looking at a map. A man was running towards him, holding a cauterised arm. After a few words, the man ran past her downstream, most likely to get his wounds treated.

Felicia nodded to her children, following the boy as they traveled upstream. A few minutes later he walked off into a clearing, and she could smell smoke in that direction. She could hear him talking to someone, then she smiled as the scent of burnt flesh and the taste of fear filled her dark heart with glee. Her pups yipped happily behind her, writhing with bliss. Fear to them was _intoxicating_. The pure feelings that emanated from Humans and Fauna were overpowering to young Grimm, driving them to insanity or bliss. For the elders, it was a mere taste of what it once had been.

A fact she gracefully accepted once the fight was brought to a close, her children being silenced with a single growl. Felicia stopped as she smelled... _air after rain,_ mixed with a hint of _cinnamon._ Ariad. She had liked the girl; the faunus had been an excellent source of emotion, both lust and pain. It had sated her heart, a feat that not many beings could accomplish. Then mirth assaulted her senses as Ariad laughed aloud, making her growl loudly. She felt his eyes on her, but he nodded his head quickly and turned back to the girl within a second.

 _I can sense you._ She heard him not-quite-say.

 _Good. I was not built for stealth._ She felt amusement on her mind as he laughed 'aloud'.

 _A Grimm with a sense of humor. Now I've seen it all._

 _Oh, you wouldn't believe anything I told you._

 _I wouldn't deny it. So, why aren't you attacking?_

 _I have pups. But besides that, I have no reason to. You haven't attacked me yet, and neither has the girl. Alas, I must be going. Glad to meet you yet again, Fire-Hunter._

 _Fire-Hunter? Please tell me that was a joke._

 _I'll let you decide that._ With that, she severed their connection, and turned around, heading back the way they'd came. At the stream she stopped, feeling another Grimm within her vicinity; now if she could just find...

"Hey there." A Barsküld stated, sitting down on a rock. She was a P'thula Grimm, with black hair and red horns.

Pandora watched the Beowulf with interest, noting the pups behind her.

"Hello. I am Felicia. You?"

"Pandora. Please, call me Pan. What's got you wandering through these parts?"

"I was checking up on a... _friend_ of mine. You know him; I can smell his scent on you."

"Ah, him. Are those..."

"His? Yes and no. The before-him is their father." Felicia saw the Grimm girl reel back in surprise. "What?"

"Humans can make babies with Barsküld? I...I have to go check on some friends of mine." The elder Grimm roared with laughter as Pandora ran back towards the village, her tail curling in a frenzied circle.

"Alright then. Children, time to go." Felicia stated, drawing them close before the air around her grew dark with her lifeblood, and a second later they disappeared, travelling instantly to the other side of the planet.

* * *

 _ **Pantheon...**_

Brafez smiled as the two -his clone and Ariad- ran into the forest, off on their big dumb adventure. He wished them luck, not that they needed it. He extended a hand, tracing the lense as the throne loosened around his body, allowing him out of the device. Before he could move, he felt arms wrapped over his chest, swirling above his heart as he heard a comforting growl.

"Hey Hun. Came to see me?" Brafez inquired, looking up at her. Felicity smiled as she threw herself over the top of the throne, landing on his forearms with an appreciative moan. "I'm not going to lie. That still freaks me out."

"Pain is my pleasure, you can't change that. So, want to-"

"Do you really need to ask?" Brafez stated with a smirk, sitting up and nipping her collarbone with his teeth. Another moan resounded before she hauled him out of the throne, throwing him over her shoulder and walking out of the room. Right before they left, Brafez looked back at the lense and said "Now go, my friend. And let the legend come back to life."

"Brafez, I _told_ you to stop quoting from Metal Gear." I stated with a sigh.

"Never! They played us like a damned fiddle!"

"Oh, I'll play _something of yours_ like a damned fiddle." Felicity quipped, turning his cheeks red.

"Well, you two, I'll be around. I've got to go guide the two hopefuls and make sure they don't die." I muttered, snapping my fingers and teleporting to Remnant. As my feet touched the dirt, I smiled, taking a deep breath.

" _A god has arrived."_

* * *

 _ **END OF EPILOGUE**_

 _ **A.n. Well, that's that. I'm back to the main series. It was a nice break from Gas Arf, but I did miss it. Now, to answer a few questions;**_

 _ **·Azeroyth is an Eldritch Diety, like Cthulhu. His face is made of a thousand sharp blades, under a hood. He has no features, merely a black form that stands out even amongst the darkest shadows.**_

 _ **·Yes, what goes on in this story will be mentioned in the main story. The characters that have not shown up yet (Katie, Grimm Knight Brafez, Crystallized Parents, etc.) will show up.**_

 _ **·Fenrir will be explained.**_

 _ **·There's more, but I forget.**_

 _ **So, yeah. Thanks for everything, to the readers who made it this far.**_

* * *

She was dying in his arms again, just like the last. Her punctured frame frail, her purple hair blasphemed with red. She was shouting, dead whispers assaulting his eardrums.

"You killed me." She cried, again and again until the words of that lethal sentence pounded its way into his heart, filling him with dead grief.

He woke with a disjointed sigh, sitting up in his bed and looking at the clock. It was five in the morning; not that bad a time to wake. He got out of bed, already dressed in the orange and blue garb he always wore, his hair neatly combed, and his attitude indifferent. A bottle of medication stood on his nightstand, gathering dust. He would consider it his only friend if he actually took them. Welsha was dead, Ariad was dead, Katie had disappeared and everyone else had distanced themselves from him ever since he had returned. Now, five years later, with Remnant cleansed of the Creatures of Grimm, Brafez had little to do.

So, naturally, he did whatever the first thought that came to mind said to do.

Today he would kill everyone.

 _It sounded like fun._

* * *

 ** _A world of pain, drained of its cullers._**

 ** _The culprit, damaged beyond repair._**

 ** _His friends, dead or gone._**

 ** _A difference in choice was all that it took to end his world._**

 ** _And now, the world would cower in fear against the boy-turned-man who saved it._**

 ** _Brutus the Reaper would rise with death, and the corpse of the greatest assassin in the world would rise with him._**

 ** _A match made in Hell on Remnant._**

 ** _Welcome to Insanity, the greatest joy of all._**


End file.
